Blossoms of the Dark

XX Shouto: Daffodil

I stand at the school entrance waiting to catch Hanada-chan.

I've been waiting here for ten minutes now.

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After collecting the curriculum, I headed toward the gents' locker room. While changing, some boys tried to make conversation with me but I ignored them, my thoughts only on Hanada-chan.

After each trial, I noticed her stiffen and flinch a little. Her grip on her cane would tighten ever so slightly. She was very subtle. But she was definitely in a lot of pain. And it became obvious during the softball pitch trial. She fell on her knees, clinging to her cane. By the time she left to go back to the classroom, she was limping on her cane. Limping.

I make a connection between her and Midoriya-san. Midoriya-san's quirk hurts him in the process, and so does Hanada-chan's quirk. Both of them can't handle the power of their quirks. Their own abilities are self-destructing.

In that case, I want to help her. I have to help her. After what happened to-

No. Don't. Don't think about that. Hanada-chan is the subject here. And she clearly needs help.

And so here I am standing by the school gates.

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Twenty minutes later Hanada-chan arrives. She gives me a quizzical look and asks, "How long have you been waiting here? Why didn't you go home?"

"I was waiting for you. I wanted to ask you something."

"And this something was so important it couldn't wait? Well then, go ahead and ask."

"Let's walk and talk."

"Alright."

We walk past the school gates and her posture seems to have improved a bit. She's not leaning so much on her cane, but it's still concerning.

Deciding to ease my way into gaining information, I ask her for her opinions on the Quirk Apprehension Test. "What did you think of today's test?"

"Frankly speaking, I was surprised. I didn't think that the class would be tested like this on the first day. Regardless, I understood Aizawa-sensei's reasoning. Even his expulsion ruse. What about you?"

"I had a similar reaction to yours. I liked his tactic too. Lie to the class so that they perform better."

"Are you satisfied with your placement?"

"Yeah, I guess. Second place isn't bad, but I think I could have done better. But you got fourth place. With a cane. I was impressed. How did you accomplish that?"

She laughs a little. "It wasn't anything noteworthy. I used my quirk like the rest of you did."

"You have an elemental quirk, right? I've seen you use water, earth, and air. Can you control any other elements?"

"Yes, I do have an elemental quirk. Besides the three you mentioned, I also have fire, lightning, light, and shadow powers. If you consider ice and water vapor as separate quirks, then those too."

"You have quite an arsenal. You've probably figured mine out by now. I have an ice quirk and a flame quirk. But I can't use them at the same time. Moreover, if I use one quirk too much, my body starts taking the brunt of it. At that point, I have to use the other quirk."

Here is my bait. By revealing a weakness of mine I want her to give one of her own. I want her to confirm that her own quirk hurts her so that I can proceed with my idea to help her.

She remains quiet for some time. Then she stops in her tracks. I stop too and wait for her. She looks at me with a knowing look. "I know what you are doing Todoroki-san. I know that trick very well. Reveal a weakness of your own so that the other reveals one about themselves. However, I will tell you what you want to know. For my own safety, one other person besides the U.A. staff should know. And I would like that person to be you. You are not so clueless to have not realized that there is a problem with me and my quirk. I fell unconscious, I limped on my cane, and I tried hiding my pain.

"I walk with a cane because I am always in pain. I suffer from juvenile arthritis. I have since the age of four. It is severe and I need to massage my joints every day. Furthermore, my quirk harms my body. Every time I use it, my arthritis flares and I need to stop using it.

I'm telling you this in the case that I suffer such an attack where I cannot communicate, you will know what is happening to me and get help. You can explain my condition and the medical professionals can treat me as such."

We stare at each other in silence, waiting for the other to make a move.

"What about the bandages?" I ask.

"Alongside arthritic flares, I develop lacerations across my body. I never know where they will open up, so I wrap my entire body from the neck down in bandages."

"And you wear gloves and a choker to hide the bandages."

It's not a question, but she nods her head nonetheless.

Feeling regretful for my behavior, I apologize. "I'm sorry. I should have asked you directly instead of manipulating you. I saw that you were in pain today and I was curious. I wanted to help you but I didn't know how to, so I resorted to seeking answers from you indirectly. Will you please forgive me?"

She cocks her head toward the side and smiles softly. "I forgive you Todoroki-san. I don't blame you for your method of easing me into giving you information. If I were in your place I would have resorted to the same method, too. It's not easy to ask a disabled person about his or her or their disability. But I would prefer that you ask me directly if you want to know more."

Glad that she's forgiven me, I respond, "I promise. If I have to ask you anything, anything at all, I won't coerce you into answering me. I would like to be your friend, and I want to start it on a good note."

She smirks her signature smirk at that. "It's ironic that you promise to ask me your questions directly but immediately after you indirectly ask me whether or not I would like to be your friend. You make a promise and break it shortly after."

Realizing that she's right, I blush a little and rub the back of my neck, unable to meet her eyes.

She chuckles at my reaction. "You don't have to make such a grand promise. I just ask that if you want to know something personal about me, then be straightforward about it. But, yes. I would like to be your friend."

My blush hasn't faded and I look back at her. "In that case, may I call you Hanada-chan?"

It's her turn to blush and avert her eyes. "You may," she whispers. "Is it alright if I call you Todoroki-kun then?

"Yeah. You may. Wait. You should. If we're going to be friends we have to drop the formalities a little."

She nods her head. "Yes. We do."

She removes a daffodil from her hair and gives it to me. Her blush intensifies further. Cute.

Not sure what more to say to each other, we walk to the bus stop in silence where we part ways.

I wave her goodbye and she looks surprised. But she waves me back with a small smile.

Just before she turns around I shout, "Will you be at tonight's welcome party?"

She hesitates a moment before saying, "I'll try. Are you going to attend?"

"Yeah. I hope to see you there."

"Me too."

She turns around and leaves. Giving her distant figure one last look, I turn toward my house.

See you at the party, Hanada-chan. 

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