Cloud of Cluster

21. Shards

Todoroki watched Antarc who was talking to Phos, clearly trying to comfot her from guilt and utter confusion. He wished for someone like that, he did once, but he's gone.

"Yo, Halfie. It's your shift." Bakugou said, only to see Antarc hug Phos from the distance. He chuckles as Kirishima looked from behind the two other guys.

"Awww......Phos is happy now. She wasn't wrong about how she'll get better when Antarc comes back." Kirishima cheered as Bakugou rolled his eyes ebfore leaving.

"I believe it's total lesbian bullshit."

"Hey now!!! Phos was totally stable with Antarc around!!"

The trio turned to see Dia and Bort, carrying a rainbow crystal spire in a red satin cloth. The spire was relatively small, but it was sharp, with all it's impure cuts anyone can get stabbed by it and bleed.

"That 3 1/2 was just a useless ge, until Antarc taught her the ropes. Though, things would've gotten better if Antarc stayed longer." Bort said before looking at Antarc who was patting Phos' back.

"Least we can get her to clam shut for a while."

Kirishima looked at the spire and touched it, making his ruby hair fade into genuine hair. He stared at himself before pinching his skin in shock and amusement.

"I'm human again!!" Kirishima exclaimed, catching the attention of the two other boys who looked in shock.

"Wait what?!" Bakugou said, grabbing Kirishima's arm and squishing it. His face went from confusion to---

"Holy shit. What witchcraft made this???"

Todoroki chuckled at Bakugou, only to a have a chunk of his face fly off.

"This was a spire found by the USJ staff. It was found underground and, well, when Dia held it she was human, for a while." Brot said as she held the spire, with the cloth and tapped it on Kirishima's head, returning the crstalline luster and shine of his ruby form.

"What--? Heyy!!!!"

"If you get shot at by arrows, you're dead for good." Bort deadpanned before dragging Dia off to Rutile's study.

Antarc and Phos walked in the library to see Todoroki and Cinnabar who were looking at a photo of Izuku when he was around 14,000 years old (14 in human years). Phos felt guilt rise up on her back, only to feel Antarc's hand on her back.

"Todoroki-or was it Cinnantarc."

Todoroki looked over at the two, before sighing. "What do you want?" He asked, as Phos looked at him with pity and shame.

"I'm sorry I traded Izuku." Todoroki clenched the photo before leaving the library only to be held back by Cinnabar.

"Hear her out, Todoroki. Izuku wouldn't let you leave if he was he---"

"Shut it!!" Todoroki snapped as Antarc glared at him.

"I want to forgive you, but I can't!! He loved you and even sacrficed himself for you. How could you not see how much he loved you?!" Phos stared at her feet before Todoroki left.

The library door slammed shut by a cold breeze, a whisper of a voice heard as it blew in the dark room.

"Shouto." Todoroki turned to see Izuku, in his winter dress, walk up to him and hug him.

"H-how...No...You're not here."

"But I am."

Izuku smiled at Todorki, stroking his cheek before cupping it in his cold porcelin hand.

"Forgive--"

"I can't, she--"

"I mean yourself."

The room was silent, Izuku's hair lighting up the dark library with his green ziosite hair.

"You can't forgive others, if you can't forgive yourself. I didn't sacrifice myself to see you carry MY burden around." Izuku said, before hugging him again.

"But, how? I made so many mistakes, I am a mistake. How can I?"

Izuku sighs, holding handing Todoroki a piece of himself, from his hair.

"Share it, to someone who would understand."

Todoroki bolted up to see himself in the infirmary.

"You blacked out before you stepped out of the library." Antarc said as she stood by the doorframe and walked over to the chair that was beside the bed,

"Izuku talked to you again, didn't he?" Todoroki nodded as he ran his hair on his scar, which was a rough exposed cinnabar geode.

Rutile was absolutely infuritated when she tried to cover it up, but the mercury would amalgamate it in direct contact, which she would've noticed. It stayed as so, even if he had a special operation for it.

"I just really want him back. Tell him I'm sorry, and just......" He spaced out as Antaec chuckled at his wish.

"Phos was like that, and honeslty, she was obssessed with me, as much as she admired Cinnabar. Though, it had to come down and now this, happened." She said as Todoroki nodded.

"I think Phos was jealous. Because Izuku was just so easy to talk to and  was doing a better job at encyclopedia making than her. She wanted to win me by showing who was better and then, this." She gestured at the infirmary.

"I don't want you to end up like Phos, blinded by guilt and rage, but unlike Phos, you have friends. People to talk to and who CAN understand you. Phos never had the people to talk to because everyone thought of her as a lowly 3 and 1/2 gem. But you? People think of you highly, like you're some god or someone strong even if you are hardness 2." She said while tapping Todoroki's head

"Use that big brain Izuku loved talking about and impress me. As soon as he comes back I'll be the only thing between you and your relationship."

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!!"

"Sure it is~." Todoroki groaned while Antarc only laughed his misery. She ruffled his hair before leaving the room.

Endeavor walked inside the laboratory, seeing the rainbow spire on the table.

"So this is what we must look for?" Dia nodded poking at the tip, making her solid glassy hair become flowy and stranded and vice versa.

"Stop doing that, you'll use your energy and go into a coma or hiberation." Bort commanded, watting away Dia's arm from the spire.

"The spire is designed to crystallize objects and life around it, without taking it's property to live. The bigger the spire, the longer the range and the larger the target." Rutile described, measuring the spire.

"The base of the spire crystallizes, while the tip reverses the effects. Problem is the energy charge." Rutile continued, tapping the spire's tip which suddenly didn't humanize her. The spire lost its rainbow property and it became a black, dull spire.

"When it looses energy, via transformation, it can no longer transform anything it touches. Spires can hold light energy or regular energy for over a billion years, maybe even longer." Rutile says as she places the spire under the moonlight.

"We need to get the other spires, or we'll all remain like this forever."

Endeavor dropped 5 spires on the table, Aizawa dropped 7 (-AND HAMILTON WROTE THE OTHER FIFTY-ONE!!! im so sorry I had to) Hawks dropped 1(pathetic) and NightEye dropped 10.

"Okay damn, don't have to brag about it Sir NightEye." Hawks scoffed as Sir NightEye rolled his eyes at the immature blond.

"How many spires were there in total Phos?" Sir NightEye asked as Phos faced the window with a shard of herself in her hand.

"25. You're missing one." She said, playing with the shard in hand. She walked out to the meadow and lied there, staring at the moon, knowing how it looks like up close.

"Shards, that all I wanted. A bunch of shards."