Chapter 11: I Can't Believe I Have To Say This But Don't Call Hits On People For My Sake Without Asking Me First
Parent-teacher conferences. Oh boy.
Fuyumi had stopped a jewelry store robbery last night. She was strong. She could do this. In fact, she already knew some of the parents who volunteered during the field trip! Just regular ol' parents, nothing to be scared of.
She did some deep breathing. Okay, so parents might be a tiny bit scarier than murderers and rapists, but only because she wasn't allowed to punch them and they could complain to her boss. She just had to get through this, and then tonight she could go absolutely ham beating people up. If any parents start trouble, she can save the rage for a more appropriate outlet.
Not that she was expecting trouble. But just in case.
It turned out her nervousness was for nothing. The first few parents were delightful, happy to chat about their kids, and none of them secretly hoping to get their child's teacher fired. As Minami's parents left, she glanced down at her schedule for who was next.
She was relieved to read that Sera's parents were next. She already knew her mother, Copper (or her civilian name, Artina). It was a little weird to see her outside of the Forge, but so long as Fuyumi kept things focused on Sera, and didn't mention illegal underground fighting rings, she was sure she could keep her cover.
There was a knock at the door. That must be them. "Come in!"
Copper (Artina, Fuyumi reminded herself) came in first, smiling broadly. She was once again dressed like a reserved mother instead of the diva Copper persona. As she stepped into the classroom, a tall man with white hair stepped in behind her. It took Fuyumi a moment to recognize him, but when she did her heart stopped dead.
Steel.
Her brain screamed "panic!" and she felt pain throughout her body. Tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched them shut. She wasn't in the Forge, she wasn't in Steel's office, he wasn't about to use his quirk on her. She was fine, she was fine, she was fine.
"Uh, Ms. Todoroki?" Copper asked, "Are you alright?"
She tried to stumble through an explanation, "S-sorry- I just- I feel sick all of a sudden-"
Fuyumi burst into tears.
Steel looked at Copper, eyebrows high. Fuyumi stopped processing beyond that, vision blurring with tears and brain going static.
She dimly registered some voices, a door closing, and then a hand grabbing her own. It was warmer than Fuyumi's hand, but not as warm as she would have preferred. A gentle, female voice spoke to her. "Hey, you with me? It's alright, you're safe."
Slowly, she caught a hold on herself, panic fading into severe embarrassment. "Y-yes."
"How do you feel?"
"Fine. Okay. Exhausted. I don't know. I'm so sorry."
Copper pat her hand. "It happens."
Copper seemed content to wait for Fuyumi to feel better before asking 'what the fuck', so Fuyumi decided she ought to explain herself. "I'm sorry, I recognized you. And him."
Her eyebrows raised. "That was our guess."
"He- I know he's fine, he's a great person, I just- My body, when I see him, it remembers-"
"Hey, shh, shh, it's fine," Copper spoke softly, kindly, "You're not the only person who's ever gotten a little traumatized. Hell, when he's used his quirk on me, I've had similar reactions, and I'm married to the guy."
Fuyumi stared at her. "How did you get over it?"
She giggled. "Honestly? Overwrote those memories with better ones. Mostly of a sexual nature, so I don't recommend you follow that exact path if you're trying to get over it."
Fuyumi's eyes widened. "Y-yeah, okay, no I won't do that. But I'm sorry to Steel, I mean, your husband, uh, Mr. Fina-" Fuyumi was still processing the fact they were married, she was certain nobody had mentioned it before.
Copper rolled her eyes. "You can call him Steel when it's just us, that's how you know him anyway."
"I'm sorry, I keep thinking of you as Copper as well."
"It's fine, just don't use it around other people," Copper leaned in, "Though speaking of names, I must confess I'm not certain who you are."
Fuyumi gulped. Nobody knew that Fuyumi Todoroki was Leia. But this couple would probably be able to guess after thinking long enough about it, and she kind of owed them after bursting into tears during a normal parent-teacher conference. "I'm… I'm Leia."
Copper let out a low whistle. "…Leia is an elementary school teacher."
"Yeah."
"I can tell Steel, right? It's going to blow his mind."
"Of- of course, just please don't tell anyone else. Like, anybody else at all, I'm keeping a secret identity for a reason."
"Well obviously, we'll take it to our grave!" Copper declared. "Don't worry, we're all friends here!"
"Thank you. And again, I apologize, I'm sure when you came for a parent-teacher conference you weren't expecting… this."
Copper laughed. "Hey, it's a bit of excitement! Surprises like this keep me on my toes! And now I've learned something new about one of my favorite competitors!"
Fuyumi felt a little better from her words. Copper was a natural charmer. "As strange of a connection this is to make, I'm sure you're also eager to hear about how Sera has been doing in school."
"Oh absolutely! Tell me all the details, and I'll update Steel after."
The thrill of the chase would be more of a thrill if Fuyumi wasn't the one getting chased.
"I'm not lettin'ya get away this time!" Miruko exclaimed.
Miruko was fast, agile, and smart. Fuyumi couldn't keep running forever. Her best hope was to run through the sketchiest neighborhoods she knew of until Miruko got distracted by an actual crime going on.
At this point Miruko hadn't seen Fuyumi do all that much aside from helping fight crime, so it made sense for her to prioritize active crimes over running after a vigilante. Sometimes Fuyumi wondered why Miruko even bothered trying to catch her.
Then she'd glance back, see Miruko's feral grin, and realize Miruko was a hunter at heart.
So here Fuyumi was, darting between buildings as Miruko advanced on her, when she heard an unusual sound behind her. A yelp in Miruko's voice, and something slamming on the ground. It could have been a trick, but Fuyumi stopped dead to look behind and make sure everything was okay.
Apparently it wasn't, considering Miruko was flat on her face. A man (who was vaguely familiar, had Fuyumi seen him before?) ran away from the sight. Had he tripped Miruko?
Fuyumi had stopped, but she didn't approach, just in case. Miruko got back up, shouted "Rude!" to the retreating man, locked eyes on Fuyumi, crouched to leap and-
Sneezed.
It was adorable. Tiny, sweet, like a baby kitten. Never forgetting her manners, Fuyumi called out, "Bless you!"
"Fuck you!" Miruko returned as she crouched again and-
Sneezed. Again. And again.
"...Allergies?" Fuyumi asked hesitantly.
"I'm not-" Sneeze, "-allergic-" Sneeze, "-to anything! The fuck-" Sneeze, "-did you do?"
Fuyumi put a hand on her hip. "I didn't do anything!"
Miruko wrapped her arms around herself, as though cold. She sneezed again, and although it was still one of the cutest things Fuyumi had ever seen, it was getting kind of concerning at this point. "Who the fuck was that guy, then? An accomplice like that fire guy you hang out with?"
Fuyumi heard shuffling behind her, and was reminded that they were in a neighborhood with a high rate of on-the-street crimes. Since Miruko had stopped trying to chase her, she decided to walk closer. Miruko's face was starting to look red, especially her nose. Her eyes were puffy.
"...Are you sick?" Fuyumi asked hesitantly.
Miruko glared at her. "I was in perfect health this morning!"
Fuyumi could see a full body shiver course through Miruko.
"Well, well, well, what have we here? A sick pro-hero?"
Both Fuyumi and Miruko immediately turned to the voice, coming from a nasally man carrying a bat as he stepped from around the corner. Behind him were a group of other folks, clearly following him.
He glanced at Fuyumi. "And could that be Leia? Oh boy, this is my lucky day."
Miruko snarled at him, but her stance was wobbly. Leia stepped even closer to Miruko, adopting a defensive position. "Fuck off, I don't need protection," Miruko told her.
Fuyumi decided to ignore those words and focus on the man instead. "We're busy, scram."
"I know a lot of folks who'd appreciate me taking the bunny hero out of commission for awhile," He licked his lips, "And the Fukuron group has a pretty nice bounty on you, Leia. Dead or alive."
That was news to Fuyumi. Probably bad news, but she didn't want to process that right now. "If you know what's good for you, you'll back off right now," Fuyumi tried threatening.
No effect. Instead the man laughed and pointed his bat. "Get 'em, boys."
Thus a battle ensued. Fuyumi got some early hits in with her darts, but Miruko and her were soon surrounded on all sides. Fuyumi was able to clobber some folks, but she had to keep an eye on Miruko. Although Miruko was able to fight, she was much slower than usual, and wobbled more as the fight went on.
When only two or three men were left, Fuyumi had the opportunity to directly fight their leader, dodging his bat to eventually slam him into the ground. When the few remaining combatants saw their leader get crushed, they scurried away into the night.
Once Fuyumi had thrown the leader into a dumpster, she returned to Miruko, who stood amidst the downed opponents, lightly swaying. "Miruko?"
"Fuckin- dizzy..." Miruko barely got out the words before she fell.
Fuyumi dashed forward to catch her before she hit the pavement. Although Fuyumi found all bodies that weren't her own to be warm, Miruko might have been warmer than the average person usually was. She cradled Miruko, concerned by her sudden attack of sickness.
A groan from one of the men on the ground made Fuyumi panic. She wasn't sure what was going on with Miruko, but they at least needed to get out of here. She hoisted Miruko on her back, and was surprised at how light she was. As she left the area, aiming for slightly safer streets, Miruko spoke into her ear, "Don't need... your fucking help."
It was weird for Miruko to not yell any words, and Fuyumi was momentarily taken aback by the softness of her voice, despite the language. "Fine, where's your agency? I'll just take you there."
"Don't got no dumb agency," Miruko told her, "I work alone."
"Wha- Isn't that dangerous? As a pro-hero?" Fuyumi exclaimed.
"I ain't gon' let nobody take credit for my work."
There was a gunshot in the distance. Miruko's negative view of teamwork wasn't important at the moment, what was important was getting Miruko safe to ride out this sudden cold.
"Where's your address?"
"Fuck off."
"Would it kill you to cooperate? I'm trying to help you out here."
"Fuck help. I do shit solo."
"Well newsflash, we worked together to take down those guys, so would it kill you to trust me just a bit?"
Miruko sniffled. "...I coulda taken them."
Fuyumi was out of the epicenter of crime, and opened an app to call for a car. "Look, just give me an address to put in here, anywhere that you feel safe and isn't in the middle of murder-central, alright? Doesn't have to be your house or whatever."
Miruko grumbled, but willingly mumbled an address. Once they were in the car, Miruko leaned back in the seats, eyes closed, occasionally coughing or sneezing. Fuyumi was thankful the driver didn't ask questions about why a sick pro-hero was being escorted by a girl in a ski-mask. Maybe they assumed Fuyumi was another hero, since Miruko wasn't trying to call for help or expressing distress.
Though apparently Miruko was pretty averse to calling for help, Fuyumi guessed from her words. That made things a little difficult. The car stopped in front of a nice apartment complex, and they got out.
Fuyumi tried to help Miruko out, but Miruko slapped her hand away. "I'm fan-fucking-tastic!"
Miruko then preceded to tilt downwards, almost hitting the ground before Fuyumi scooped her up.
"Put! Me! Down!" Miruko screeched.
Fuyumi acquiesced, but kept one of Miruko's arms over her shoulder so she could stabilize her walk. That outburst seemed to have used most of Miruko's remaining energy, since she for once didn't complain about Fuyumi's assistance.
"I'm fifth floor," Miruko muttered once they entered, heading for the stairs.
Fuyumi wordlessly tugged her to the elevator instead. Miruko wore a pissed off expression, but didn't argue this time. Inside the elevator, she leaned as if dozing off.
What had happened to her? Did Fuyumi need to call a hospital or something? This seemed like a cold or the flu, but it hit very suddenly. Fuyumi wracked her brain for an explanation as Miruko unlocked her door, stumbling inside.
It was a small place, but at least there was a couch. Fuyumi lowered Miruko onto the couch. Miruko's eyes were closed, and Fuyumi wondered if she had actually fallen asleep while standing up.
Fuyumi put a hand on Miruko's forehead, trying to see if she had a fever, but obviously she felt hot. Normal foreheads felt hot to Fuyumi too. So Fuyumi withdrew her hand and decided to treat it like a cold, since all the other symptoms lined up.
She needed to wrap her up, nice and warm. But also hydrate her. And put a cold thing on her forehead. Maybe make something warm? She opened a few doors, looking for a closet that could have blankets, but first found a bathroom and bedroom. The last door she tried was a closet, but it mostly contained cleaning supplies.
She felt rude entering the bedroom, but it seemed that was where all the blankets were. She flicked on the lights, trying not to look too hard but unable to ignore some wrestling posters on the wall. Miruko must be a fan. She focused on the bed, fluffy with a gray blanket, and completely unmade. Jesus, it was a mess. Fuyumi tried to straighten it out a bit before folding the blanket to the side, allowing space to put a person down before covering them.
Transporting Miruko probably should have woken her up, but all she did was mumble something incoherent in her sleep. Once she was deposited in her bed, Fuyumi bundled Miruko up in the blankets.
Blanket, secured. Next up, cold thing on her forehead.
She went to the kitchen and opened up the freezer, looking for a cold pack. After digging through some frozen ready-made meals (she really hoped Miruko didn't eat those all the time), she found a cold pack and put it on Miruko's forehead.
She also filled up a glass of water, and left it by Miruko's bedside. She wasn't sure how long Miruko was going to sleep, but presumably she'd be dehydrated when she woke up.
As she cooked some oatmeal she found buried in the back of a cabinet, she once again tried to think what could have caused the sickness. Do bunnies sometimes get randomly sick? Did something trigger it? Miruko had been fine right up until she had fallen and... a man... ran away...
A quirk. Dabi had mentioned a quirk before, that could make somebody sick from skin contact.
She pulled out her phone and called 'D'.
He answered after three rings. "Emergency?"
"No. But important question. Do you remember that guy you said could make sick with his quirk?"
"Yes. Why are you asking? Did he finally make his move?"
Fuyumi's brow furroed. "'Make his move'?"
"I told him a few weeks ago that if he could take that hero hunting you all of the time out of commission, I'd pay him."
Fuyumi's jaw dropped. "Dabi! What the hell!"
"Just trying to be nice. Figured I'd save you some trouble by taking her out."
"Don't- I can't believe I have to say this- But don't put hits on people for my sake without asking me first whether I even want that!"
"You want to be caught by that bunny?"
"Obviously not! But I also don't want her left sick and weakened with villains about."
Dabi snorted. "What? You got the hots for your hero nemesis?"
Fuyumi bit her lip. Uh-oh.
"Wait, do you actually?"
"Look, just tell me how I'm supposed to cure the sickness."
"Wait, wait, can we go back to the part where you're into the scariest bunny on the planet?"
"Dabi have you seen her thighs?" Fuyumi whispered urgently, "Who the hell can look at those and not swoon at least a tiny bit?"
"Holy shit that was sort of a joke, but good to know you're into girls who can and want to beat you up."
Fuyumi groaned. "Just tell me the cure."
"There's no cure, since there's no disease. Technically, all the quirk does is send a person's immune system into overdrive, making it react as though they're infected by something. He told me it's incapacitating, but harmless. Not even contagious."
"So what am I supposed to do then?"
"Uh, leave her on the street? What was your plan, take her home and nurse her back to health?"
Fuyumi didn't have a good response to that.
"Oh no, don't tell me... Leia, where are you right now?"
"...I'm in her apartment kitchen. Making oatmeal."
"Goddamnit, Leia!"
"I couldn't just leave her on the street! There were villains around!"
"That's the fucking point. If you left her, then your whole 'being-chased' problem would've been solved."
"Dabi! I don't want her dead!"
"Obviously not, with those thighs I guess," Dabi sighed, "Look, I was just trying to help you out."
"Well that's very sweet," It really was, "But next time you do, ask me beforehand!"
He clicked his tongue. "Fine. Sorry this didn't work out, but the effects should clear up in a few hours. Make sure you get out of that apartment before she's well enough to catch you. I'm not bailing you out of jail."
That reminded her. "I'd bail you out of jail."
"...Leia."
"Seriously, if you ever need someone, call me. It's fine if you won't bail me out, I have other people in my civilian life I can call, but if you need someone-"
"We can talk about this later. You go deal with your hero-crush."
"Fine. Thank you for the info. Never do this again."
"Yeah, yeah."
He hung up, and by that time the oatmeal was ready.
She brought it into the bedroom, and was surprised to see Miruko sitting up. "What the fuck." Miruko said as a greeting.
"I've got oatmeal."
"I- I can see that," Miruko stared at the bowl with wary eyes, "Are you trying to drug me?"
"What? Obviously not." Fuyumi ate a spoonful of the oatmeal to demonstrate its safety. "I'm literally just trying to be nice."
Miruko glanced sideways at the glass Fuyumi left earlier. "Drink the water too."
Fuyumi obliged by taking a solid gulp of the water and returning it to the bedside table. Once secure in the knowledge that nothing was severely poisoned, Fuyumi chugged the water. Dehydrated, as Fuyumi suspected.
Once hydrated, Miruko accepted the oatmeal with narrowed eyes. "If this is some sort of trick, I want you to know that Hawks is explicitly required to avenge me, should I be taken down."
"I thought you work alone?"
Miruko frowned. "...Hawks and I don't work together. We're just friends with a vengeance pact."
Fuyumi shrugged in acceptance of the defense. "Should I call him? You'd probably prefer that he take care of you rather than-"
"No!" Miruko exclaimed, "He's on patrol! And I don't need someone to take care of me!"
"...You couldn't even walk straight."
"I feel a lot better after that nap." Miruko's nose twitched. "How long was I out?"
"I think about half an hour?"
"Well I'm back to perfect condition!" Miruko said, putting the bowl of oatmeal aside to stand up.
Once standing, she blinked several times. "Huh. Dizzy-"
That was all the warning Fuyumi got before she fell back onto the bed. Fuyumi barely snatched the bowl of oatmeal up in time, preventing it from spilling all over the hero.
Fuyumi giggled. "I see. Perfect condition means falling as soon as you stand up?"
"I stood up too fast," Miruko defended herself as she wrapped herself back up in blankets. "This is weird as shit."
"Being sick?"
"You. What the fuck are you even still doing here? I'll take you to jail."
"You don't seem to be in any condition to take anyone to jail right now."
"Fuck you."
"Is it that hard to let anyone help you?"
"Only the weak rely on others." Miruko's dramatic statement might have been more poignant if it wasn't immediately followed by a sneeze.
"Well I think it takes courage and strength to admit you can use help."
"Fuck you."
"Is that your default response to everything?"
"Only when weirdo vigilantes try to give me life advice."
Fuyumi rolled her eyes behind her goggles. "Sorry I'd rather have you accept help and not be dead than act all tough just to die on the street."
"I coulda taken those dudes."
"But I'm sure it was easier with me there."
"This whole shit's your fault. This all happened after that weird dude whacked me, and he wouldn't've had the chance if I weren't so focused on chasing you. I bet he had some sort of weird quirk that did this to me."
"Wow, you're smart, figured it out fast."
Miruko's eyes widened, and she backed up on the bed. "So this was a set up!"
"No! Well, yes, but not one I was aware of!"
Miruko glared at her, still as far away as possible in a defensive position.
"I called my friend just now, and he told me that he apparently ordered some guy with a sickness quirk to take you down? So you'd stop chasing me? But he didn't warn me about it!"
Miruko scoffed. "Weird fucking friend."
"Hey, at least we don't have a vengeance pact." Fuyumi paused. Wouldn't she want to take revenge if Dabi was killed? "Maybe we should get a vengeance pact."
"So all of this is your fault."
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Fuyumi admitted, "Albeit some of it is indirect, and I've kindly requested my friend not call any more hits on you."
"Well then, if you admit it's your fault, then you should take responsibility and refill my water!"
Fuyumi blinked. Was Miruko... asking for help? But phrasing it so it didn't sound like she needed help? She obliged the request (or demand, more like) and got some more water, taking a sip in front of Miruko before giving it to her.
"Also, you oughta make more oatmeal! You owe me!"
Well, whatever Miruko needed to think to allow herself to accept help. Fuyumi continued to take care of Miruko for another hour or so before Miruko kicked her out. She had become far more coherent by then, so Fuyumi felt okay leaving her on her own.
On her way home, she wondered what in life had made Miruko so stubbornly against being helped. Well, she doubted she'd ever learn, assuming Dabi complied with her wishes and didn't try to take down Miruko. She doubted she'd ever bond with Miruko again.