A/N: Wow, hard to believe it's almost been a whole year since I started work on this fic! Still, time does fly when you're having fun.
Anyways, about this chapter: when I first started this fic, tiguylerobot asked if Todoroki was trans, had been a girl all along but was pretending to be a boy, or was a boy and changed into a girl using a sex change Quirk. Well, basically, this is a chapter that answers that question by flashing back to when Todoroki revealed her true colors. As a matter of fact, I think I might do other "Flashback Friday" chapters every first week of January that comes around...provided I'm still going with this fic, of course.
Also, before I get to the chapter, I want to give another shoutout to Ryuujin96 and also to James Birdsong for being the most consistent reviewers here. Thank you guys so much for your support, and stay tuned for more!
For Deku, it had been almost like yesterday: UA had held its annual Sports Festival, where contestants raced, snatched headbands and battled it out to see who would be crowned the champion. It had been rough for all contestants involved, but for Deku and Todoroki, it was nothing short of epic. Throughout the battle, Todoroki repeatedly attempted to freeze Deku with his ice, but Deku always destroyed it using One For All. However, this came at a cost of Deku breaking bones. Eventually, it happened that Todoroki was freezing up due to repeated use of his ice, and it became clear that unless he used his fire, then he would turn into a human popsicle. Then Deku uttered those six words: "It's YOURS! Your Quirk, not his!" With that, Todoroki decided that he didn't have to repress the "Hot" portion of his Quirk anymore because of his hatred for Endeavor, and with that, he managed to beat Deku. After the battle, Deku was sent to the office of Chiyo Shuzenji, better known as UA's head nurse "Recovery Girl":
"I've healed you enough that you should be able to walk. But be careful."
Deku steadied his breathing. "Thank you very much, ma'am." He gasped slightly when he saw the scar on his right hand.
"That's what you get for overusing your Quirk in a short timeframe. Consider your crooked right hand as a warning from now on."
All Might walked over.
"And just so you know, I will not heal injuries like this anymore!" said Recovery Girl.
Deku and All Might gasped upon hearing such stern words.
"You must find a new way for him to use his power!" said Recovery Girl. "There has to be an option that's not so self-destructive!"
On the way out of Recovery Girl's office, Deku and All Might were mulling over her words.
"A new way of using your Quirk…" said All Might.
"Excuse me, may I have a word in private, Midoriya?" said a familiar voice.
Deku and All Might turned around to see Todoroki standing there. Deku nodded.
"Yeah. You don't mind, All Might?"
"Not at all."
Thus, Deku went over to Todoroki, who led him into a nearby bathroom.
"Midoriya, are you OK?"
Deku frowned. "Yeah, but…what's wrong with your voice?"
Todoroki blushed, gasped and covered "his" mouth when they realized that their voice had slipped.
"Todoroki, is there something you're not telling me?"
Todoroki uncovered "his" mouth and cleared their throat before using their male voice: "Midoriya…I'm not who you think I am." They switched to the female voice. "My real name is Shoko Todoroki. I'm really a girl, but all these years, my father…he really wanted a boy, so he forced me to disguise as a boy, but you…because of what you did back there, I…I…"
The amount of emotion that Todoroki was feeling at the moment became too much for her to process, so she broke down crying, ran up to Deku and gave him a big hug. While unsure of how to process such raw emotion, and while it was difficult to return her hug considering how busted up his arms were, he did his best to reciprocate everything. After all, she was a fellow student, and it was because of his words that they were here right now. Despite having trouble dealing with this outpouring from her, he actually welcomed it because he felt more like a hero. Besides, being a hero didn't always entail saving people from burning buildings or beating up some of the most vile, despicable villains that ever walked the planet.
Despite feeling awful from being unable to hold her emotions together, Todoroki also welcomed being able to cry. After all these years of being forced to hide who she was, to conform to someone else's domineering will, she could finally feel that baleful burden floating off of her shoulders, making her feel lighter than even a single feather. When she first saw Deku, she didn't know what to make of him, but in holding him, she could see that he was the kind of guy who would never threaten her, never get drunk and hit her, and never say he was too busy to spend time with her. In this world that could go insane at any second, he was the sanest choice. Even after Todoroki stopped crying, she continued to hold on to Deku as if he were her favorite stuffed toy, though there was one problem…
"Todoroki…"
"Y-yes?"
"I love it when you hold me, but I feel like you're crushing my windpipe."
"Oh." Todoroki let go of Deku. "If you'll excuse me…"
Todoroki grabbed some paper towels from a nearby dispenser, blew her nose and dried her eyes.
"Midoriya…don't tell anybody else about this…not yet."
Deku smiled and raised his right hand. "Your secret's safe with me, Todoroki!"
Todoroki nodded. "Thank you. I think this could be the beginning of something beautiful."
Deku smiled nervously and made a pushing motion towards Todoroki. "OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves here!"
Just then, All Might knocked on the bathroom door.
"Is everything OK in there, you two?"
"Everything's fine!" said Deku and Todoroki.
"Listen, I better get going," said Deku. "I promise I'll back you up if you ever decide to confess!"
"Please do. It would mean a lot to me. Anyways, goodbye for now, Izuku Midoriya."
"Bye!"
Deku waved to Todoroki and caught up to All Might. Even if this had been a bombshell of a day, at least both parties could look to the future with hope.
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.