TWO POWERS (Todoroki Shoto x Reader)

You are sitting on your living room sofa wrapped in a blanket. Now that you're inside the warm room filled with lamps emitting a golden light, you realize how dark and cold it was outside. There's only you and your dad, making hot chocolate for the both of you. The quiet is interrupted by the occasional sound of a spoon hitting the pot. Your dad looks serious so there must be a lot on his mind. You, however, are feeling the same as you did at school.

Seeing your dad pour the hot chocolate, you emerge from your blankets and move closer, sitting at the kitchen table. You grab two coasters and lay them ready for your cups, your dad finishing the process by presenting you with a steaming cup of sweet liquid. Your hands immediately grab the cup, absorbing the warmth and energy while your dad sticks to the traditional way of handling a hot mug.

"So, tell me, how's school? For real now."

He sips his drink after cooling it properly. You quickly sip your drink quickly before answering. A bit annoyed and freshly energized, your voice comes out confident and expressive.

"Well, it's been tougher than I imagined to be honest. I definitely stand out when I use One For All and some of my classmates have misunderstood me. Which I guess is fine but it sucks that I can't just come out and say that I inherited All Might's quirk. So I've been letting that bother me for a while, which I don't like. I'm not like I used to be."

He considers what you said and replies, "But in a way you are not who you used to be. You have One For All now."

"But I was fine even after inheriting it and before the quirk assessment test at school as well." You raise your voice and stress your words in frustration. "I've been letting my classmates bother me, but they don't even know that I know!"

"But if they don't know that you know then just be how you want to be, Sunshine. And even if they had told you something to your face, you should still not let that stop your progress."

You stop and consider. He does have a point.

"Waaaait a minute, you seem to know a bit too much about this."

"Toshinori called me earlier and told me that he's worried about you."

"All Might?"

"Yeah."

Having nothing to say, you listen to the clock tick and drink your hot chocolate. Your dad does the same before needing to say one last thing.

"Don't be afraid to use your power the way you want to just because of some classmates who don't know and can't understand. And remember that I'm on your side, you can talk to me any time."

"Thanks, dad."

*.☽ .*

The next day you commute to school as always but are surprised to see that the press is blocking your way. It's only your second official day, but you suspect that "countless reporters block the students' way to school" is not on U.A High's programme.

The pre-One-For-All you would have been thrilled about the attention and the prospect of potentially being on TV, but knowing what you are risking with, you decide to sneak past.

You try to push yourself through, but since you're wearing a uniform, you are stopped.

"Hey, you! Can you tell us what it's like to work so closely with All Might?"

"How did you..." you start, feeling your stomach sink, but then check yourself. "I mean, how did you know he's working here?"

"Ugh," the reporter lady concedes. You just discovered the secret technique of answering a question with a question. Or to make it more effective, answer with a stupid question, if you don't take yourself too seriously.

You walk to class kicking yourself for almost slipping up, entering the classroom in a rather negative state of mind. You take a seat and Mr Aizawa is not far behind. He begins homeroom and offers some brief comments on yesterday's battle training – none of which are directed at you.

"Let's get down to business. Our first task will decide your future: you all need to pick a class representative."

People immediately start volunteering themselves and telling others why they should vote for them. You hesitate. You definitely would have volunteered a few months ago, but you can feel something stopping you. Muscles tense, you are angry at yourself. You decide to raise your hand.

But before you do, Iida proposes to have a vote and the majority agrees. You feel the opportunity to turn the tables slip through your fingers as people start looking for papers to cast their vote.

With a heavy feeling in your chest you consider all the possibilities and end up voting for Iida since he is not afraid to ask questions and at least tried to initiate a conversation with you.

It looks like others made the same choice and Iida won the vote, becoming the class representative, with Yaoyorozu in second place to support or replace him if need be. From what you remember, she didn't vocalize her opinion about you, so you're not too upset.

When lunch rolls around, you decide you're not hungry enough to eat and stay in the classroom, staring out of the window.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

You turn to see Todoroki, looking the same as he has since you met him. He takes a seat at the desk next to you. You turn more towards him too.

"Thanks for asking, I appreciate it. I don't know what to say though."

"Did I misunderstand? Are you the type who is quiet in a group but more lively one-on-one?" he asks. Something about such a direct question is soothing.

You shake your head. "No, I'm... I guess Sunday really bummed me out and I haven't been able to bounce back yet." Staring at the ceiling you add, "I was so excited about coming to U.A and using my power to the fullest only to be disliked by my classmates. I don't even want to use my power anymore."

"The other one beside your mom's? Your dad's, I presume."

It's too much of a hassle to start explaining, even if you could reveal the origin of your new power, so you decide to keep the answer simple. "Yeah. But I feel guilty since it's my power. I should be able to use it whenever I want without feeling bad about it."

He doesn't respond much, so you gather your courage and ask him, "What's your other power, Todoroki?"

Something in the air shifts.

"I'm assuming you're familiar with quirk marriages."

You nod.

"My father bought off my mom's relatives to have me and now he's trying to make me achieve his goals. I refuse to be his tool. Every memory I have of my mom is her crying. I remember she called my left side unbearable before she poured boiling water on my face. You see, I am going to reject his power and show him that I can become a hero without using it."

You stare at Todoroki, shell-shocked. You notice the almost lifeless look in his eyes, proving that he is 100% serious.

You're about to stammer something in response when a loud alarm cuts through the air.

"Warning, a level three security breach. All students please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion."

"Ah, I, I guess, uhm, we should go then. We should evacuate."

You stand and start moving, not noticing that Todoroki didn't come with you until you're at the door and look back. He is only now getting up from behind the desk.

"Shouldn't we evacuate, like, quickly?"

"I think we can deal with whatever threat this is. We're both strong."

Later it turned out that the press had gotten in and that the new class representative had calmed all the other students down too.

A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading!  Please let me know if you like the story: comment, vote, or react in some other way. The view-to-vote ratio / few votes makes it seem like this fic is not it so why keep writing a fic that only one person likes. But for now, the next chapter will be a long one so I hope you'll look forward to it :)