Icy Hot

Two Flames

Shoto leads the way into an empty garden as the stars and moonlight beam down on them. Natusme was starstruck at the view. She's a sucker for having the perfect views of the stars while bathing in the moonlight. Unfortunately, her Icy Hot pain in the ass was there with her. "Why did you bring me here?" she questioned. Both of them stopped in their tracks as Shoto pauses and keeps his back turned towards her.

"There's something about you". His voice remained calm and lacked emotion. Her eyes squint as she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What?" He turns to her while igniting his flames. From her point of view, he looked terrifying. Just him, a few feet away from her, standing in a fighting position with one side of him burning. "Hey, whoa! What are you doing?" She backs up slowly as he starts walking towards her. "Show me" Her heart starts to race as he gets closer. Her back suddenly reaches a tree as she is now left with no way to escape from him. He steps closer, now inches away from her. She can feel the heat from his flames getting closer and closer. "You're scaring me, man" He smirks. That fiery gleam in his eye shows. "Show me what you can do with that quirk of yours" She gasps and looks terrified. "What?" He begins to start freezing the ground with his right side as she looks down in horror. "Wait stop!" She sees his ice coming closer as she quickly ignites her flame and slams her hand on his fiery wrist. Her flames circle around his arm and floods into his eyes, igniting his whole body with a hot feeling, but it doesn't burn. It feels...hypnotic?

She pushes him off and circles behind him, letting her flames take hold of his mind. He slowly turns around and looks pissed now. "That's all?" He stomps toward her as her eyes illuminate purple. She takes a deep breath and demands "Stop!" His eyes now mirror the color of hers, signaling he's now under her control. He stops in his place, now mind empty and helpless. Her flames still wrap around her arms. She smirks and lifts her hand so her flames aim directly at him, eyes still shining a bright purple color. Suddenly a sharp pain hits her head and she hears a sort of loud and high pitched sound. Grabbing her head quickly and crying in pain, she draws her flames back, returning Shoto's power over himself and breaking free from her trance. She falls to the ground and holds her head. Shoto looks around, confused as to what just happens. He sees Natsume kneeling on the ground holding her head. "What's wrong?"

She glared up at him with evil eyes. "Were you trying to kill me?" He continues to appear confused, shaking his head. "You stopped." "Yeah no shit Sherlock, what were you thinking?!" She stands up and stomps closer to him. "You tried to kill me! What the hell was the point?" Shoto stands ahead of her, eyes wide and full of curiosity. "Why did you stop?" He was demanding an answer and held his ground. "W-what are you talking about?" Shoto steps closer to her as he looks deep into her eyes. Natusme widens her eyes and leans back feeling super awkward during this weird interaction. Shoto squints his eyes and leans back, returning to his normal state. 

"You need training. Your quirk is weak and causes your body physical stress. I will help you train until your body is ready to handle your quirk." Natusme sits in silence as her face furrows and her breathing temporarily stops. She shakes her head and returns her attention to the conversation. "What are you talking about?" He narrows his eyes as his cold demeanor fills the air between them. "Meet me at the garden tomorrow morning at 9am." He turns his back to her, but looks over his shoulder to give one last angsty remark. "Don't be late" He walks away from her, not looking back. She stands in confusion, not moving an inch. What exactly did he want from her?

9am, the next day, Natusme yawns and practically zombie walks to where Shoto stands. He stands there, stiff as a statue, as his eyes are closed and his breathing is slow. She cocks her head to the side and looks weirded out. Mainly because it was weird. What the hell is he doing? "Uhm...hey?" She throws up her hand in an awkward wave as Shoto opens his eyes and faces her. "Good. You made it." She analyzes his face and body language. Sure enough, just the the same old Shoto Todoroki, the emotionless, half and half hero. "What do you want, Icy Hot?" Shoto cocks his head to the side while looking Natsume up and down. "Have you eaten?"

Okay. He's completely lost it now. "What?" Shoto cocks his head back up normally. "You can't train on an empty stomach". Natsume stands there, seemingly curious and also slightly irritated. "M-my school doesn't offer breakfast at this time. Or at least they don't offer edible breakfast." Shoto nods and thinks to himself for a bit, before turning his back to her and walking off. "Follow me". Natsume furrows her eyebrows in confusion, but ultimately ends up following him anyways. She was too tired to fight him on this. 

The two walk in silence while eating rice balls. It was definitely an interesting meal for her and a step up from regular American food. Shoto sighs, for once the silence made him uncomfortable. "I want to know about your quirk." He demands. She swallows the leftover food in her mouth before responding. "First of all, if we're going to be working together more, you need to be less cold and monotoned." She brushes her hair behind her ear. She hates awkward silences and she hates having conversations with people she doesn't know. "I don't understand what you're asking of me. This is me being nice." He glances over at her with a cold look on his face, eyes narrowed and spilling hate from them. "That's what I mean. You say you're happy, but your eyes and language say otherwise, Icy Hot." Shoto faces forward, eyes still narrowed and a deep sigh escaping his lips. "Don't call me, Icy Hot" She smirks at how much he hates the name 'Icy Hot'. "My quirk is nothing that needs to be spoken of. You shouldn't have even known it existed in the first place". For the first time ever, Shoto's eyes open wide as he looks at her with curiosity in his eyes. "What do you mean?" She sighs. "No one is supposed to know I have this quirk. It's a secret. Not even my own family knows I have it"

Natusme continues walking at a faster pace, while Shoto is left behind to catch up. He follows her and jogs to catch up to her speed. "Why is it a secret? And what makes it so important?" She shakes her head and grins. "If I tell you, it wouldn't be much of a secret, now would it?" He jogs to reach her speed again, but stops in front of her, causing her speed walking to come to a halt. "I don't understand. You have the perfect quirk for a hero! Why keep it secret?" She smiles softly at him as her eyes fall to a sunken state. Her aura fades to a sad tone of regret and guilt. "That's why it's a secret, Icy Hot." She gently moves past him and continues walking. Shoto groans to himself before running after Faith again. "I'm confused. Did you not want to be a hero?" Natusme rolls her eyes and stops in her tracks to look him in the eye as she speaks. "Let me paint the picture for you, hero work is not my thing. I have...goals and dreams and a life to live, and being a hero is nowhere near who I want to be. If anyone found out about my quirk, they would force me to be a hero. Or worse." Shoto's eyes grow brighter, eager to hear more about this quirk. "What's worse than being a hero?" She takes a deep breath. "If a villain were to find out about my quirk, they would kill to get their hands on it. I can't exactly live my dreams if I'm dead, right?" She continues walking as Shoto closely follows behind her.

 "But I don't understand...what makes your quirk so special?" Shoto asked. He had to know more about her. Something in him was drawn to her. "My quirk is fire, but it's not the average fire quirk like the one you have. My flames themselves, they're harmless. The magic in them, however, is the scary part." Shoto stares at her in anticipation, while her heart nearly beats out of her chest. She's never talked to anyone about her quirk. "They have the power to take hold of whoever I want. I can control their mind and body like a puppet. Only problem is, I can't control myself. The pain I feel in my head is a warning that I'm about to lose myself. If that happens, I can't control what I do. I could kill someone or drive them to kill someone else. I don't have the power to fully control another person and myself at the same time." 

At that moment, Natusme snaps into reality and quickly interrogates Todoroki. "Why are you asking me so many questions about my quirk?" Shoto looks down as a light blush spreads across his face. "I don't know. I just..." She raises her eyebrow expecting a faster answer. "Ever since I met you, I've felt drawn to you. I figured maybe it was just your quirk.