The Phoenix {A BNHA Fan Story}

Chapter Twenty: Todoroki Household

They spent the rest of the day stuck in that concrete room. Over and over again Soraka tried to make the lion blue like Endeavor had, but she was unable to do so. Every time, she would manage a tiny blue flame, no bigger than the flame of a match. She would try to quickly touch the lion with it, but it always failed. It would either disappear before she got to the lion, or it would barely spread before the orange flames would cover it right back up.

The center of each of her palms was burned from the heightened heat. She had no idea what the two males had been doing the entire time, she had been too focused and agitated. 

This is impossible..my hand's gonna burn right off.

She glared at the lion a moment, then sighed an let it wither away.

"Are you giving up?" Endeavor's voice was sharp enough to cut through the air between them.

"No sir. Just giving my hands a rest." She said, keeping her eyes were the lion had been sitting, and staring up at her in anticipation of feeling that burning power again. 

"Since you feel it's okay to stop and 'rest', then you can spar against Shoto." She didn't see how he practically shoved the boy towards the center of the room. She did, however, see the nasty glare Shoto shot back at his father, and yet the boy still approached the center.

Soraka huffed quietly and also approached the center. "What determines a win?" She asked, somewhat more annoyed than she meant to.

"Pin your opponent down for three seconds. Quirks will not be allowed, you are to use physical strength only." Endeavor explained, though his tone suggested that he felt like he shouldn't have had to. "On my mark you will start." 

Her and Shoto were only a foot or two away from each other. She couldn't help the slight smirk she gave, as she recalled her lessons with Mirko. Hopefully they would assist her, even though Todoroki was top of their class for a reason. 

"Ready..Set.." She slid her right foot back, bending slightly at the knees and bringing up her arms. Shoto did the same, though his hands stayed lower than hers. 

"Fight." Endeavor grunted out, not bothering to raise his voice. He crossed his arms as he took a step back, indicating that he also had no intention of stopping them if things got too bad.

They didn't bother to dance around each other, as Shoto immediately came for her, throwing his leg forward in a high arc. Soraka leaned back, dodging it. She came forward again, using the small momentum to throw her fist at him. He ducked it easily, stepping towards her while low. he again used his leg to sweep at her feet, making her jump back. He stepped forward again, matching her step as he threw a punch. She didn't hesitate to grab his fist, quickly throwing her leg around the back of his. Soraka threw her arm over his chest, forcing him onto his back. He slammed hard against the ground, but he grabbed her arm that was about to hold her weight against his chest, and force her over him to the other side. He was quicker about putting a foot against her leg, forcing her to turn over onto her stomach, and not even thinking about it as he placed his leg on hers, holding one of her arms behind her back, and practically laying on her.

"Shoto wins." Soraka could hear the grin in his voice. It made her furious with herself. With the confirmation, Shoto eased up and sat down nex to her. She pushed herself up and sat sideways on her legs. "Now you can either go again, or get back to those flames. You clearly aren't ready to face any real villains."

As soon as they both stood up, she muttered "Start," before catching Todoroki off guard. She pinned him similarly to how he had pinned her. 

"With all due respect sir, there's more to fighting than strength alone as well." She stood up, going back to her place closer to the wall. She swore tha she heard a chuckle from Shoto.