Savior (My Hero Academia: Todoroki x OC)

Chapter 52: Kiss Away My Doubts

"What do you mean it's your mother?"

Thankfully, after his initial reaction, Shoto was able to hide his disgust fairly well. Hopefully, that would help us avoid making a scene. I kept my voice low, while quickly scanning the room to make sure no one was paying attention to us. "My mother's quirk. It allows her to manipulate a person's sense of smell. My guess is that she didn't like how close we were and used her quirk on you so you'd keep your distance. It's hard for her to control more than one person at a time, but she's crazy accurate with it. I bet, right now, you'll only smell that gross smell coming from me and nowhere else."

I watched as Sho experimented a bit, breathing in the air around him. "You're right, it definitely smells like it's coming from you, which I know can't be right because you always smell amazing."

I couldn't stop the small smile that formed on my face. "Thanks, Sho." 

"What I don't understand is why your mom would use her quirk on me. She could have asked me to keep a respectful distance and I would have listened. It's not like she's Iida; she's your mom and I would have respected her wishes."

I wanted to roll my eyes, but held back. It wasn't Sho's fault that he didn't understand my family dynamics. "I don't think it was out of parental concern. Her quirk isn't widely known and I've seen her use it like this at events before. Usually she does it to embarrass someone or to knock them down a peg." I sighed reflexively, frustrated that some things always stayed the same and my mother's behavior towards me was one of them. "If I had to guess, I would say she's either trying to remind me of my place or cause some sort of scene. I think she's unhappy that I'm not wearing what she wanted and managed to find my own date. She couldn't control me tonight and I think that bothers her."

Sho leaned against the arm of the bench, maintaining his distance, but still smiling at me sweetly. He probably looked at ease to anyone who happened to glance his way, but his eyes had narrowed in agitation. "What place does she need to remind you of?"

"She doesn't usually take much of an interest in me, except to point out my flaws. She likes to remind me that I'm the inferior daughter and, I'm quoting here, "without her aid I'd be a walking disaster.""

"If that's true...for a grown woman, your mother is surprisingly vindictive."

"She's particular. She likes things to be a certain way. I've never quite fit into what she expected or what she wanted me to be. I don't know if I can go back to submissively agreeing with everything she demands, but I can try harder to meet her expectations. She's my mother so it's not like I can avoid her."

"Kana." The gaze Shoto fixed on me was sharp. Anyone who didn't know him well would think he was glaring at me. But I could see the softness in the slight upturn of his lips. "You've changed a lot since we first met. But one thing I've always admired about you is your ability to realize what you can and can't do. There were times you struggled, like when you first started growing seeds mid-air. But that was because you knew it was something you had the ability to do. If it was something you knew was out of your hands or beyond your capacity, you could let it go. This," he said, swiveling his head to signify the room at large, "is something beyond your control and you need to let it go."

I turned away from him and went back to staring out the window. He reached out to brush his fingers over the back of my hand before linking his fingers with mine, his voice becoming even softer. "I know she's your mother, but there is a limit to how much she should expect from you. Why do you try so hard to please that woman, when it's obvious that nothing you do will ever be good enough? I don't know her reasoning, but all I see is a bitter woman trying to ruin her daughter's date. It has nothing to do with you or your abilities, but this," he said while looking around the room again, this time with a heavy glare, "is something you can't do, my love. And even if you could, I don't think I would want you to."