The end of the exam day left Todoroki as one of two students that failed the licensing exam in his class. He wasn't even all that surprised, considering his mind was distracted by the confrontation with his father. It made him angry, he knew what his father was going to say about Sumire. That anger led to a lot of poor decisions during the course of the exam, ending in failure.
"Hey, don't worry about it, okay?" Uraraka said with a pat to his shoulder. "There's always the remedial classes they mentioned. You and Bakugou will have your provisional licenses in no time!" Midoriya to his left nodded in agreement, busy texting his mother the news that he'd passed, only to get a call from her immediately after sending the message.
Todoroki nodded as he excused himself from the group to use the bathroom. Upon leaving, he was faced once again by his father, who looked furious. Shaking his head, Todoroki tried to pass him by, though Enji Todoroki only used his massive frame to block his exit.
"I have nothing to say to you, get out of the way," Todoroki said, his tone full of venom.
"It doesn't matter if you say anything, but you will listen," Enji responded, his flames flashing in warning. "Your performance in the exam was embarrassing, you've clearly been distracted from your training and that girl is the reason."
Todoroki slammed his right fist against the wall, ice jutting out from where his hand landed, only to melt just as quickly as it appeared due to Enji's intense body heat. "She had nothing to do with me failing the exam! It was you and your bullshit that had me distracted out there!"
From an adjacent hall, Sumire was walking toward the main arena, hoping to catch Todoroki as soon as she could. She knew he had to be upset over the exam results. As she got closer to the main hallway, Sumire heard raised voices and stopped short. She recognized Todoroki's voice, though the anger in his tone was something she hadn't heard in a while. Unsure of who he could be yelling at, Sumire decided to stay out of view.
"So disrespectful as well, your little rebellion is only going to cause you trouble, Shouto. And interacting with that girl is dangerous. One accidental touch could take away the power I've worked so hard to develop in you."
"I don't care!" Todoroki yelled at his father, surprised with his son's outburst.
"How could you be so careless?" Enji shouted back, his voice roaring through the hall. "After all you've accomplished, why are you so willing to give it up over some girl?"
"BECAUSE I LOVE HER!" Todoroki yelled without a moment's hesitation. "I know you're incapable of understanding that concept, old man, but I'm not." Todoroki took advantage of his father's stunned response and slid past him.
No longer blocking his son's path, Enji answered back, "Love is nothing but a weakness, that's all I need to understand. If you won't listen to me then you'll just have to find that out the hard way. That girl is going to destroy you."
Sumire brought her gloved hands up to her mouth, shocked at Todoroki's sudden confession. Tears stung in her eyes as she started to hear footsteps drawing closer. Panicked, Sumire ran off, not prepared to confront either Todoroki or his father after hearing their conversation.
Unaware that Sumire had just been standing around the corner, Todoroki stopped to answer his father one more time. "I can accept that possibility, but there's nothing weak about the way I feel for her. I'm more motivated to be my best with one smile from her than the last ten years of pain I endured with you."
Enji remained unusually silent as Todoroki left, his heart racing as he realized he'd finally put into words the feelings he's had in his heart for so long. If only he had run into Sumire instead of him , perhaps he could have admitted his love directly to her. Taking that idea seriously, Todoroki decided to find Sumire and confess, consequences be damned.
Unfortunately, he never managed to meet her that day.
Running until she had managed to leave the building and get outside, Sumire took a seat on a nearby bench to catch her breath and give her mind time to process all that she'd heard.
"BECAUSE I LOVE HER!"
The words echoed to her over and again just as loud as the first time it was said. Todoroki had confessed his feelings for her, to his father of all people! She felt a sense of heat swelling in her chest, it wasn't as sharp as panic or embarrassment. It was comforting, soothing to her as the warmth grew. Sumire had felt like this in brief moments before, she realized as she crossed her hands over her heart and bowed her head with a smile.
Those other times she'd felt this warmth had involved Todoroki as well.
Thinking back to all the moments they've shared together, Sumire's mind finally caught up to her heart as she realized that what she was experiencing was love for Todoroki. She felt almost giddy as she kicked her legs beneath the bench wildly. "I feel the same way about him!" she said in an energetic whisper to herself, staying in that moment as long as she could to savor the joy.
"That girl is going to destroy you."
The laugh she felt rise up from her throat was quickly swallowed down as she recalled Endeavor's words. He saw the potential danger that she posed to his son, and as much as it hurt to admit, the man wasn't wrong. All it would take would be a single misplaced touch or momentary loss of control to ruin all of his dreams of becoming a hero.
"I can't put him at risk like that," Sumire muttered to herself as she felt a tear fall and soak into the fabric of her glove, soon followed by several more. The best way for her to show how much Todoroki means to her would be to maintain their distance.
If only there were a way to get rid of this damn Quirk, Sumire thought as she watched the dark, damp spots on her gloves spread. There would be no more need for the gloves, the precautions, or the self-isolation if it were gone. She'd get to know what true freedom could be like without it.
Of course, it was all wishful thinking for her, something to imagine as everything remained the same as ever.
Author's Note- Hello readers! Just a quick note to say hello and that we're finally getting near the end of No Direct Contact! I just finished my final outline and expect to have at least two more chapters left before this story is complete. I'd like to say thank you to everyone that's commented, read, and supported this story over the years. I began this story near the end of 2015, and with a few hiatuses between continuations and chapters, it's been a long journey, but we're about to reach the destination. So I'd like to thank you all for accompanying me, it means so much!