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Kaiya pov

Years passed in the blink of an eye. I tried not to think of my situation as being rejected, and it helped a little that Mrs. Todoroki would invite me over at least once a week to play with Fuyumi. I would end up playing with all of the Todoroki kids except Toya every visit. The thing is, I noticed things change over time. At first, Toya avoided me like I had the plague. My heart still ached at the thought. We were soulmates, after all, we should at least be friends from what I understood from Mrs. Todoroki's explanation of the whole bond thing.

Then, about a year into my visits, I would catch Toya watching his siblings and me play in the courtyard behind their house, or when we would wander the garden. He never would get close, but I did notice little things about him during that time. For some reason, his hair seemed lighter than the deep crimson it usually was, and he would have bandages covering his arms most of the time, though the more often I visited, the fewer bandages I would see.

About two years into my visits, he had slowly made his way closer, to the point that he would speak with his siblings, though still being standoffish with the twins while managing to completely avoid me. That was fine, though, because my heart warmed at the fact that he at least was paying attention to his family again. I could see how much it meant to Fuyumi and Natsuo, and Yukime would gaze at Toya like most children would do with my dad. It was pretty adorable considering he would act like he was uncomfortable, yet I could see the barest dusting of pink on his cheeks each time.

Things between Toya and me changed shortly after my thirteenth birthday. I had gotten sick with the flu, which had me bedridden for almost two weeks. When I felt better I practically begged to be driven to the Todoroki house. I could tell that my dad wasn't really happy with my fate, but he had told me once that he hoped my contagious energy and happiness would help Toya. We both could tell something was going on that we didn't know about. You'd have to be completely oblivious to not notice.

Mrs. Todoroki was happy to see that I was feeling better, and Yukime had tackled me the instant she laid eyes on me as I walked past the living room.

"Hey, Kaiya!" She smiled brightly up at me with her mischievous grin and excitement sparkled in her eyes, and I squat down to be closer to her level. "Lookit!" she held up her hands in front of my face, concentrating heavily before they suddenly froze over.

A giggle burst from me as I squished the three-year-old's face, making her proud grin look really silly. "That's amazing , Yukime!"

Our happy moment was interrupted by her mother's terrified gasp, and everything seemed to crumble in a matter of seconds. "Yukime! You remember you're not supposed to…" The woman seemed to not be able to speak at this point, which drew my attention to her. That's when I noticed how tired and stressed she looked.

Something was very wrong.

Yukime sadly stared at her ice, then suddenly winced. "Ah! Is everything ok, Yuki?" concerned, I gently grabbed her arms, eyes frantically searching for what could be wrong as the girl started to tremble and the ice suddenly started spreading. "What-"

I was interrupted by quiet footsteps, then a hand reached between me and the little girl, and small red flames rolled around the fingers as they hovered quickly over Yukime's arms. Her ice melted, but angry red marks remained in their place.

"Just have to practice more, little snow flurry." The slightly deep voice made my heart stutter in my chest as my eyes trailed up the arm in front of me to meet brilliant turquoise as he extinguished the flames that had been dancing around his hand, then ruffled the small girl's hair with his other one.

"Toya," their mother scolded, though weakly. Her voice sounded almost like she was on the verge of tears, but I couldn't drag my gaze from my soulmate. "You shouldn't encourage her. You of all people should understand why she needs to stop."

At the word stop, my attention panned to the woman. "Wait, she needs to stop? Stop what?"

Endeavor's voice echoed through a hall I had never been down, calling for his wife who quickly responded and darted away from us.

"What just happened?" I mumbled confused only to be answered by the last person I expected to actually speak to me.

"They expect her to not use her quirk," Toya's voice drew my attention back to him as he gathered up his little sister into his arms and she silently cried into his shirt. His eyes met mine, and I could see so many emotions wavering in them.

Following him down the hall to his room, I paused for a heartbeat as he walked into his room. I hovered by the door uncertainly, not knowing if I could enter.

After placing Yukime on his bed, Toya turned and lifted a brow at me. "You coming in, or not?"

There was no stopping the smile that bloomed on my lips. "Okay," I chirped happily as I entered the room and sat on the chair by his desk. "So…why don't they want her to use her quirk?"

For a little bit, only Yukime's small sniffles could be heard. Then Toya sighed, looking over at me from his seat on his bed. "She got her quirk a little while after you got sick. They were happy with how strong her ice powers seemed to be until they noticed the reaction her skin has to the cold that the ice makes." He shifted, rubbing small circles on Yukime's back. "They came back from the doctor telling her not to use her quirk anymore, but I know what that meant. She's like me."

My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "What do you mean?

His eyes met mine for a heartbeat before he looked down at his hand which he suddenly ignited with small flames. "My fire is stronger than the old man's. He always told me…I could be the number one hero with my strength. He used to train me until I couldn't stand…" Pausing for a moment, he took a breath before he continued, the fire still dancing along his skin. I could tell he wasn't totally comfortable opening up, but I was glad that he was.

"Being the little brat I was, I started to practice with my quirk outside of training. I gave myself some really bad burns, and they had to take me to the hospital. After I was poked and prodded, they told my parents how strong my fire was probably gonna be. To say the old man was happy was an understatement, but they put out his excitement real fast." He suddenly winced, extinguishing the flames along his hand. Just like with Yukime, there were angry red marks marring his skin. "Strong fire quirk, but a weak ice-body. I can withstand freezing over like an ice cube, but I can't withstand my own fucking quirk, at least according to them. The lil flurry is the same, but swapped with a strong ice quirk, and a weak fire-body."

"Oh…" My heart sank with every word as I processed the information.

"I know better than that, though," Toya's determined voice brought me back out of my thoughts, "We can manage our quirks, we just need to train them."

I was silent, still thinking over what he said, then I looked up at him with concern, "So that's why you're always so bandaged up, huh?"

He slowly nodded as his eyes narrowed. I could tell he was starting to regret opening up to me, so I nodded back with my own determination. "You're right."

This seemed to take him by surprise. "I am? I mean…yeah, I'm usually right…about…stuff."

I giggled at the small unsure tone in his voice, "You need practice. You were born with the quirk, so even if your body wasn't really meant for it, training the right way - the safe way - can make all the difference! If you want, I can help!" I smiled cheerfully at him, noticing a tiny dusting of pink across his nose before he scoffed and looked away.

"I still don't even know what your quirk is, Sunshine, how the hell are you gonna help me?" He drawled while eyeing me suspiciously.

Ah, he got me right in my ego. I smirked before leaning to the side slightly, "Hey, Yuki, wanna see my quirk?"

The girl shifted, tear trails along her cheeks and sniffles still wracking her small body, "Sure"

"Let's all go outside then!" I chimed happily. Scooping up Yukime – which earned me a few small giggles – I rushed outside, fully expecting Toya to follow.

He did, though he looked thoroughly exasperated at my energy level. "So, what're you gunna do, Sunshine, blind us with a smile ?"

Feeling cheeky, I sent him a smile that was almost like my dad's, and again I noticed a tiny blush along with his eye roll. "Nah, but thanks for thinking my smile is blinding!"

Gently setting Yukime on her feet as her brother stopped beside us, I backed away a few steps. "You guys know my dad is All Might, so it's no secret that he's like… ridiculously strong. I don't think I'll ever get to that point, but I do have a quirk similar to his!"

At that, I focused my quirk on my legs, bent almost into a squat, then jumped, shooting off into the sky with a loud laugh. I hadn't been able to do a jump like this in a long time, and the feeling of free-falling back to the ground was amazing. As I neared the ground, I sent a little energy into my arm then punched downward right before I landed. The wind force from my punch acted as a cushion for my landing, and I stumbled a little as my feet met with the grass again.

Yukime squealed excitedly, her eyes wide as saucers and smiling from ear to ear. "That was futting cool!"

"Hey!" Toya and I called out at the same time, instantly recognizing what the three-year-old had said, our cheeks both red as we laughed at the confused girl grinning up at us.

Clearing my throat and shaking my head, I continued explaining my quirk. "I have an enhancement quirk. I can send energy to certain places to enhance them right now, but dad thinks with training that I could use it on my whole body. Kinda like a strong form, and a normal form," I looked at Toya with another cheeky grin, "So how about it, Toya? We could train together to get stronger, and when we're pros, we can work together as a team!"

He didn't say anything for a little while, and it made me nervous. I mean, it wouldn't be that big of a deal if he did say no, but I thought it'd be a good way to get to know him better in a way that he's comfortable with.

He narrowed his eyes at me again, then much to my surprise he nodded. "Sure, that might be ok. Just don't think I'll take it easy on you cause you're a girl."

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3rd person POV

What the three outside didn't notice were the two pairs of eyes watching them from different locations of the house.

Rei Todoroki watched from her bedroom window with mixed feelings. When she had seen the three go outside, she was curious but hadn't expected Kaiya to showcase her quirk. She also hadn't expected to see Toya speaking with the girl, but she was relieved to see the two interacting in a friendly way. She could only assume it was friendly based on the smiles she spotted on each of their faces. What had her worried was when her two children started using their own quirks, though on a much smaller scale than Kaiya had. Both Toya and Yukime suffered the same fate of having a body not meant for their quirk, and Rei could only blame herself for not leaving her marriage when she realized how awful Enji had become.

Speaking of Enji, he was also watching the three in his backyard, his eyes alight with a new sort of twisted excitement. Before, he had told Toya to just give up on being a hero. He had stopped training him and even ignored him in an attempt to get the boy to stop using his dangerous quirk so that he wouldn't have worse injuries. Of course that hadn't worked. If Enji had only realized the boy had his own stubbornness, he might have been able to actually do something about it. Instead, all he saw was a strong quirk in a weak body. Now his second daughter had the same weakness. Looking back to the boy that he had running laps around the training room, he smirked again. He had finally made a perfect child, half ice and half fire. Shoto was going to be the one to take down All Might and be the number one hero.

"You can take a five-minute break," He barked at the exhausted three-year-old before allowing his gaze to return to the three in the backyard, his gaze burning again. Now, however, Enji believed fate had shown him what Toya was truly useful for. All Might's daughter showed signs of having a quirk that rivaled the number one hero in strength, and if the two soulmates were to have their own children, they would surely be more powerful than the current number one. He could just imagine the possibilities when fire and ice mixed with massive strength.

"I knew that boy would be useful," Enji smugly muttered as he envisioned the future.

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Kaiya POV

It didn't take me long to adapt to helping Yukime train her quirk. Sure, we had to be careful and work slowly, but she was a quick learner in every aspect. Her movement was a bit…choppy, but she was little, so this was a great start.

Training with Toya, however, was a whole different battle. The control he had over his quirk was next to nothing at the beginning. It was either quick, full-fledged blasts or barely a wisp. Toya had started making improvements on his control over time, though, but that still wasn't saying much. We had worked it down to thinner jets of flame instead of large plumes, they just remained as quick bursts despite our hard work.

Then there's the fact that Enji had randomly started speaking to him again after a few months of our training. Toya was absolutely delighted. His dad was finally showing an interest in him again. I, however, grew nervous. For so long that man had ignored literally everyone other than Shoto, but now he wants to show interest? I didn't like it.

That's when things started changing.

Enji suddenly suggested that Toya join a special training program with the HPSC. He had informed his son that this training was only for the best of the best, and would be even better at getting him prepared for being a hero than U.A.

He agreed in a heartbeat, of course.

I wanted to be excited for him…I really did…but…

"Do you really have to stay there during the week?" My nerves were getting the best of me, and I was doing a horrible job of being discreet about not wanting him to go.

"Yeah, I do, but I'll be home every other weekend," He actually seemed to be an average teen since Enji had bought up the program. Normally, he was too quiet and pretty cynical, though I guess that counts as normal teen behavior too, but this is different. His eyes lit up in a way I had never seen, and the corners of his lips were almost always tilted up in a tiny smile. He was kinda...cute, to be honest, but for some reason that made me even more anxious.

"But…do you even know how they do training there? I get that they deal with 'the best of the best' or whatever, but what if they push you too hard? You could get seriously hurt if they don't do it right. I mean…you were burning yourself pretty bad when you were alone-"

"My control is better now," His attention turned to me now, the small smile on his face softening and sending a warm blush across my cheeks, "Thanks to you. You changed things for the better. I thought he'd just give up on me completely with our whole soulmate thing, but I guess he noticed me while I was training with you."

"O-oh, well I…I didn't do much, honestly!" My hands waved frantically, in an attempt to hide my rapidly heating up cheeks, I guess.

He turned fully toward me, taking the few steps from his bed to his desk where I was seated, then he slowly lowered into a squat so he could be level with me. My eyes raked over his face, taking in the faint scars along his cheeks and chin, moving to the noticeable dark circles under his eyes. Speaking of his eyes, my gaze moved up to stare into his mesmerizing turquoise irises, practically drowning in them the longer I stared.

"You changed my life, Sunshine," He murmured softly, "Now, I can be the hero I've always wanted to be. We can both be top heroes. And who knows," he paused, eyes flickering away for a split second, "Maybe once I'm done with the major part of the training, we can…try out this soulmate stuff."

My eyes widened, whispering, "Y-you actually want…" before my forehead was flicked, bringing me out of the semi-daze his comment had put me in.

Now he was smirking at me, looking more like his normal self, "We'll see, but I make no promises."

I pouted, looked away, and grumbled about angsty, pretty boys being jerks. This made Toya snort then go back to his packing.

He left the next day, much to Yukime's and my dislike. The poor little girl had tears pouring down her face even though she put on a tough expression, her hand holding tight to my own.

Toya hugged his mom, though it seemed awkward, like they didn't know how to act around each other anymore. He paused in front of Shoto, sparing him a blank stare, next he moved to Fuyumi and Natsuo, simply saying bye and attempting a joke with Natsuo. Then he came to a stop in front of me and Yukime.

His tough exterior cracked slightly as he had a staring contest with the little girl, a small smirk gracing his lips when he sighed and squatted down to her level, his arms opening wide. A small whine left Yukime and she threw her small, shaking body into his waiting arms.

"Hey, I'll be back, little flurry," Toya chuckled and ruffled her hair by rubbing his cheek against her head. "Remember to keep working on your quirk, ok? You're gunna be a tough hero like big brother, right?" He pulled back, holding her at arm's length so he could grin at her, his brow lifted in curiosity.

The little girl nodded rapidly, "I will!"

I tried to prepare myself for my goodbye next, readying myself for a tidal wave of emotions to hit me. When he stood and made eye contact with me, though, I noticed the slight height difference more so than I normally did.

My lips parted to say my goodbye, only for words to fail me when Toya pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before spinning around and climbing in the black car, which quickly disappeared down the road.

Rei was happily smiling down at me while Shoto stared at the rest of the family looking slightly confused, holding his mother's hand. Fuyumi gaped and Natsuo freaked out, which I found funny when I thought about it later on. Yukime's reaction was similar to Natsuo's, only slightly more restrained and with more giggles.

I just stared at the space in front of me where Toya had just been, my lips still parted to speak and my face burning red. He kissed me. Well, sure it was only on the forehead, but…wow. I couldn't have stopped the large, goofy smile growing across my face even if I wanted to.

Maybe this was the start of something new, something really good for Toya's dreams of being a hero, and for the both of us.

I was wrong.

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