Secrets [Todoroki]

*Chapter Twenty-Two*

A soft beeping noise filled Miri's ears as she finally regained consciousness. Her eyes flew open, and she sat up quickly, not knowing exactly where she was.

Her mind flitted with what she remembered from the sports festival. She held a hand to her head and felt the gauze surrounding her skull. Her hand delicately flitted over her heavily bandaged nose. She sighed to herself.

She looked around the room and finally noticed the red-and-white-haired boy sitting in a chair beside her bed, just staring at her.

She sighed once more.

"You said you wanted to speak to me." He looked down at his clasped hands in front of him. "...and I was in the neighborhood."

Miri nodded. "I'm...glad you're here." Her voice was hoarse and quiet.

"How are you feeling?" He looked up at her, but not really at the same time. He eyed the bandages around her face and his eyes trailed lower to the bandages that were wrapped around her arms and torso.

"I've felt...worse." She stared up at the ceiling.

Silence fell between the two of them. Miri continued to stare at the ceiling, and Todoroki continued to stare at her.

"My father mentioned running into you before the..." He trailed off. "Why did you say the things you did?"

"He made me mad." That was the best answer she could give him. She didn't know why she said them either.

"That wasn't like you at all..." He leaned forward with a sigh and stared down at his hands. "You haven't been acting like the girl I know at all lately. This isn't me coming at you and being like I was before. This is me asking you what the hell your problem is because from the looks of it, you're about to fall apart." His cold gaze pierced into her.

She looked away from the ceiling and stared into his eyes for a moment, trying desperately to get him to understand that talking about what was bothering her wasn't just something she could come right out and say.

"Mirianne-"

"I can't...just tell you." She sighed. "I mean I can, but...it's hard. If I told you...then everything changes. I. Don't. Want. Anything. To. Change." She looked up at him. "If I could tell you everything without losing you, my friends, and the school then I would. But...that's not how it is. If I told you everything...then you'd really understand what I meant the first day of school when I told you I wasn't someone you wanted to be friends with."

"...losing me?" He asked.

Miri's face heated. "Yeah. Losing you."

He stared down at her, his mind a muddled mess. He really didn't know what to feel at this point. Was he supposed to be mad at her? Was he supposed to forgive her? It was all so confusing for him.

"What do you mean about 'someone you wanted to be friends with'? Is that directed at everyone or just...me?" He couldn't hide the hopeless tone of voice.

Miri turned back to the ceiling then. "It's...for everyone. But more specifically you."

"Then...should I be here right now talking to you? Should I be near you? Should I even-" He caught himself. He was getting worked up, and he was about to talk to her like he would his father. "Should I try being friends with you after all of this?"

Miri didn't answer at first. She didn't have an answer for him in the first place, but he deserved one. "Do...do you want to try being friends?"

He looked away from her and focused on the door instead. "These secrets...how bad are they?"

Talking about all of this was getting to Miri. Her eyes burned, and she blinked rapidly, trying to control the tears. "I don't think I could answer that."

"Then I don't think I can answer you." He sat back in his chair, hands rubbing at his face.

A lone tear escaped down Miri's cheek. "Where does that leave us?"

"Upset." He sighed and handed her a tissue.

𓆩*𓆪

The teachers of U.A. sat at a table. Principle Nezu sat at the head of it, and all was quiet as he shuffled some papers around on his desk.

"Hibiki Noramura transferred in a few weeks into the school year. He was a smart and promising student and seemed ahead of all his classmates. Now we know why. Based on what we saw from the festival, he seems to have been working with Nightmare on the side. For what reason, we don't have a solid conclusion." Nezu spoke calmly.

"What about Mirianne? When they battled, he acted as if he knew her or held a grudge against her. The things that poor girl went through at his hand...it's terrible." Midnight wrung her wrists.

"Could it possibly be that he just targeted her because she came out on top of the entire year?" Present Mic asked.

"Why would Nightmare make her presence known in that exact moment? If Hibiki got in under her, what would be the point of showing up in the first place?" All Might rubbed his face.

"Maybe she made an appearance only to immobilize us while Hibiki took care of Mirianne? With none of us being able to get in and intervene, then Mirianne was at the mercy of him. It's a good thing some students stepped in and helped solve it, I'd have worried what would have become of our pupil." Cementoss sat back in his seat.

A teacher held up a hand. "On the topic of Mirianne..."

"We've been there multiple times-" Principle Nezu interjected.

"Let's just go there again!" The teacher pushed out. "Mirianne, from day one, has been a red dot. We all know it. She got first place in the entrance exam. Aizawa reported she purposely held back in the Apprehension Test. For what reason? Midnight was, no offense, beat by her without Miri even using her quirk against her. Then the U.S.J. incident! She punched Nomu over. All Might never knocked Nomu off his feet that entire time. Given she shattered her arm, but the fact is she still did it. Finally, the Sports Festival. This girl acts like she wants to stay low, but then dances around with red flags surrounding her. It's like she's scared to be a hero, but doesn't want to fall behind everyone else even though she's more or less ahead of them."

"That's enough!" Aizawa barked. "This is my student you are talking about. Despite how she performs, she is no less a good student. All of my students, regardless of their quirk or performance so far, are good students and deserve the benefit of the doubt. Mirianne has done nothing deserving what you speak of her. She literally got near beaten to death in front of us and all we could do was watch. What does that reflect on us as teachers? Protectors of the innocent? A villain like Nightmare snuck into our school, not to mention had a leak. Instead of pointing fingers at students, let's look at ourselves."

The teachers around the table fell silent. Aizawa had a point, but facing that reality was hard. The safety of their students was not threatened just once, but twice now. Eventually, parents will question the school, and it will force good potential heroes to leave.

"Mirianne is a student who knows what she's doing." All Might filled the silence. "She performs academically well, and she's an exceptional hero in the making. She provides encouragement for the students around her and displays respect to those who've earned it. I don't think our focus should be on her, but how and why a villain put a leak in our school."

Nezu sipped his tea. "However way I look at it, nothing will come of us speculating. We'll have no choice but to leave it in the hands of the police. The best thing for our students will be to push forward and be more vigilant from here on. Let's wish for a speedy recovery of all students injured during the events today."

Each teacher nodded their head, but the gathering today did nothing to quell the twisting sensations in their stomach.