Nat: The Beginning

Deep Talks With IcyHot

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Natasha...Wake up Tasha....Don't forget about me. Please...It's time to wake--"

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Nat (present-day)

"...up! She's waking up!" 

I jolted upright, suddenly snapping back into reality. 

I looked around to see my classmates surrounding me, looking concerned. I held my head. Everything felt fuzzy. 

I could still hear a girl's voice ringing in my ears, but I couldn't remember what she said...

"Oh my gosh thank goodness you're ok!!" Momo said, stepping forward. 

"Yeah, we were all worried about you!" Tsu said. "You did so well in our round and all the others but in the last one...well you know." 

I looked at them funny.

"Actually...I don't. All I really remembered was hearing Bakugo talk to me before I froze. And then everything went black."

Everyone looked at one another, clearly concerned. 

"What?" I asked. They were starting to freak me out. 

"Well...when the match first started, we could tell you were out of it. You dropped your arms, and the focus was gone from your eyes. Then the lights in the stadium started flickering like crazy and Bakugo lunged at you full force, but you just stood there. It was very out of character for you," said Deku. 

(Of course Mr. Notebook would notice something like that). 

"But that's not all," said AJ. "Just before it looked like he was going to hit you, and HUGE explosion went off. And I mean huge. But it wasn't like his normal ones. It was like a blinding flash of light, and no one could see until the dust settled." 

Well that part I certainly did not remember. I scanned the room. 

"Wait, where's Bakugo now?" I asked. 

"In another room getting treated for injuries. Somehow he managed to get hurt by his own explosion, but you took the brunt of it. To be honest, some of us were even wondering if you guys like...died." 

I tried to lighten up the situation and laughed. 

"You guys are sweet, but I'm ok! See? I'm still here now and-and everything's fine. I'm totally...fine" 

Everyone looked at each other, then back at me. Luckily, before anyone could say anything else Recovery Girl came into the room and shooed everyone else away. 

"Only one visitor at a time! You're going to overwhelm her." 

Almost everyone turned to walk out of the room. 

"You sure you're ok?" AJ asked. 

"I'm fine." I tried to smile, but I don't think she bought it. Either way, she still turned and left the room. 

I sighed with relief and sunk back down into bed, closing my eyes. It was nice that I'd have some peace and quiet to process my thoughts while the matched continued outside. 

"You don't have to keep things to yourself, you know." 

I shot upright and yelped in surprise. 

"Oh sorry. I didn't realize you thought I left."

It was Todoroki, still standing in the corner of the room. That boy was so quiet, I didn't even realize he was still there when everyone else had gone out. 

"I can leave if you want--"

"No! No it's ok actually. It might be nice to have someone here."

He pulled a chair over next to the bed and sat down. I didn't really even know him that well, but it was still strangely comforting to have him there. 

"So...your hair." 

"Um...yeah?"

That certainly was an interesting way to start a conversation. 

"Oh sorry. What I mean to ask is, is it colored because of your quirk?" 

He ran his hand through his own bi-colored hair, and I realized why he was asking. 

"Oh, um no actually. It's just like that unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?" 

"Hm?" 

"Oh you said 'unfortunately.' Do you not like your hair?"

I wasn't sure how honest I should be. But for some reason, looking into his eyes, I felt like I could trust him. I wanted to trust him. 

"Well, I guess it's not that bad. It just makes me look a lot like my mother and we...we don't exactly have the best relationship." 

"I see." 

Great. I probably made him uncomfortable with the mommy issues. 

"I actually hate my hair too. I don't have a very good relationship with either of my parents, but I despise my father more. That's why I never use my left side." 

Well shit nevermind. 

"I don't want to overstep any boundaries, but...is that part of the reason why you faltered in your fight with Bakugo? It seemed like what he said threw you off-guard. Especially the last part." 

"I...I guess so. It's just, the things he said really reminded me of her. And she always made me feel like I could never measure up to her expectations. I guess I proved her right." 

I stared at my hands.

"I've just always felt like a failure. I've never been able to fully control my quirk, and I'm weak. She always said I was and then I lost the fight, and no heroes are ever going to give me an offer and I'll just end up proving that I really am weak like she said and--" 

"Hey, heyy. Look at me." 

He took my hands in his. Despite one hand being able to produce ice, they were both surprisingly warm. 

"My father used to make me feel a similar way. He always pushed me past my limit. But look at us now. We're here, and we're still putting up a fight. I say that makes us strong." 

I couldn't help but smile a little. No one had ever said something so nice to me before. 

"Plus I think you're stronger than you know anyways. I know the others all said that explosion came from Bakugo, but I'm willing to bet that it was also you. And if you think that's weak, well then I don't know what strength is." 

Wow. This was not the same kid I had an awkward conversation with just a few days ago. He suddenly had a way with words, and I could see this determination on his face that I couldn't even describe. 

"I will beat him for you. I promise. You are my friend, Natalie, and I won't let anyone think they can get away with feeling this way." 

He had a murderous look in his eye, and I couldn't help but laugh a bit. 

"That's very sweet, but you don't have to take it quite that seriously. It's ok." 

"That may be so, but I still mean every word." 

"Well thank you. And thank you for talking to me." I said. 

"Of course."

He stood up and walked away, stopping just in front of the door. 

"Oh and by the way, I know you might not feel the same way about it but...I like your hair. It's nice." 

My face suddenly felt very warm and I got that funny feeling in my stomach again. That's happened twice now since I've interacted with Todoroki. Strange.  

I'll have to ask Recovery Girl for some Tums or something when she comes back.