Opposites Attract

Todoroki

"Shoto, where are you going?" My sister, Fuyumi asked as I got ready to leave the house.

"The hospital," I reply simply, after my fight with Midrioya, I started to think about my mom, something I didn't ever do, I had to see her.

"What? Hold on, why?" Fuyumi said, "You can't just visit. Not without telling Dad, right?"

"Whatever," I reply opening the door, as if I cared what that old man thought.

"But why go now? Why see her after all this time?" Fuyumi continued but I didn't respond to her, I planned on seeing my mom and then taking Annie out.

"I'll be back," I reply, although I have the feeling it's a lie, Annie will beg me to stay the night and I can never say no to her damn puppy dog eyes.

I walked down the street in silence, my mother's old words running through my head. I hated some of the things that she said about me, but she was my mother, and nothing was her fault. Ever since that day, I thought that the sight of me would cause her nothing but pain. So I never visited. That's what I should have told Annie when she asked. She would have been encouraging and tried to help me.

But on the other hand, she might not have. After all, she's never had a mother in her life. She told me about how her mother signed all her rights over. My mother may have said that the sight of me can be unbearable. But her mother found her so unbearable to the point she didn't even want to be her mother. Something like that has to hurt, but Annie puts on a smile every day. I wish I could be more like her. 

But I guess my mother and I will always be bound to each other. By blood. By our history with my father. That's why if I'm ever going to use this body and these powers to become a hero... If I'm going to give it everything I have.

I sigh as I stand in front of the door to her room, I reach out to open it but my arm falls. Maybe I am nervous, maybe what I told Annie was partially right. But if I'm going to become the hero I want to be, I need to see my mother.

So I open the door letting it open slowly. And there she was sitting on a stool and staring out the window. There is so much that we need to talk about.

"Hello, Mom," I say and she finally looks at me, for some reason she looks so broken to me.

I had to rescue her from this place no matter what. That's my first step to getting back on track. It's what I have to do. I take a step towards her and find a place to sit down.

"Hello, Shoto." She said, her usual softness in her voice was still there, "You've visited."

"I'm sorry I haven't been, I was nervous." I say quietly, I haven't visited her after all these years and I feel bad, "But a... friend. Helped me realize something."

"You've grown to be a very handsome boy. I'm sure girls are all over you." My mother said and I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my face.

"I actually have a girlfriend, " I said, and my mother perked up as I continued, "She's beautiful."

"I'm sure she is. What's her name?" my mother asked, and I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Annie.

"It's Annalise... but she prefers to be called Annie," I say pulling my phone out and scrolling through my pictures, before finding a picture of us from the day right before the sports festival.

My face held its usual cold expression, and she had a big toothy smile on her face. Her cheek pressed up against mine as she took a photo I wasn't ready for. But I let her keep the photo anyway and saved it as my background as well.

"Here." I say holding my phone out and my mother takes a look, "She's adorable isn't she?"

"She is very beautiful Shoto." My mother replied as she looked at the picture closer, "What's with all the little marks on her body?"

"Her quirk is Puppetry... so she's got a bit of marks that physically show it." I responded and my mother nodded, "She gets really self-conscious about them, but I think it makes her beautiful."

"Has she met your siblings and father?" My mother asked and I froze, the two of us had only been dating for a few weeks. Three maybe?