My Healer Academia (Bakugo x OC x Todoroki)

[S2] Shoto Todoroki: Origin

A/N: There's a timing inconsistency within this chapter regarding the canon plotline, but for the sake of the story, let's just roll with it hehe

ALSO, I may end up being busy Wednesday evenings, so these updates may be posted earlier in the day on Wednesdays (: As of now, Sundays will still be at ~6PM CT

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               Tomura Shigaraki watched in a dark room that was dimly lit by the screen in front of him. It had pissed him off to see Midoriya making leeway throughout the obstacle race portion of the sports festival, but what made him even more upset was seeing her. The students' faces made his scratching worse, causing more noticeable cuts to appear on his neck.

               "This brat..." His voice was low and menacing, as if his words could reach out and kill the girl onscreen. A scoff escaped his lips as she shamelessly allowed herself to fall behind the boy whose quirk was similar to All Might's. "How did this half-assed girl survive...?" From his memory of the USJ incident, Shigaraki could have sworn that her quirk was healing. However, as he continued to observe as she made her way through the second round along with the one-on-one battles, it made him even more frustrated that he couldn't figure her out. That was until... the end of her fight.

               A sinister grin played across Shigaraki's lips because he saw it. Before that ice boy had a chance to conceal them, he knew what he saw, for he had seen that familiar puff of ash for a majority of his life. He began to giggle, a laughter that soon transitioned into uncontrollable cackles. From the incident, to her manipulation of nature, and now, with her quirk fighting against itself, Shigaraki pieced together what her power was.

               "Amazing," he whispered. Shigaraki's hand released itself from his neck as his fingers grazed the monitor, which revealed a close up of Ai's frozen figure after the surrounding ice had evaporated. "I'll have to see this in person."

               Smooch.

               "Seriously, Ai-chan," Recovery Girl sighed. "I never thought I'd have to use my quirk on you."

               "It wasn't my fault," Ai stammered. "I mean, yeah, Ice King had me on the ropes for most of it, but... I thought..." With an aggravated sigh, she hung her head, staring down at her newly issued school shoes as her aunt finished up the healing process. "I guess it was my fault..."

               "I told you not to overuse your quirk." Chiyo's voice had a sing-song pitch to it, as if she were waiting to make this statement. "Honestly, if you knew you wouldn't have been able to move on to the next round anyways, why did you act so recklessly?"

               "I..." She clenched her hands as she bit down on her bottom lip. Why did I do that? Her mind rewound to earlier events. She remembered her best friend's encouragement. She remembered the threat of a tap against her forehead. She remembered the warmth next to her ear... When she was told of her strength. Looking back up, Ai gave Chiyo a determined stare. "I didn't want them to think that I'm weak."

               "Who, dear?"

               The question made an automatic figure pop into Ai's mind along with a sudden heat to her face. "Bakugo-kun..." Chiyo gave her a questioning look, but Ai continued. "Along with everyone else in the stands. My opponent, Aizawa-sensei, you..." She brought her hand to her heart and gripped her shirt. "E-Everyone! I wanted everyone to know... Just how strong I've become." The tension in the room was released by a hand placed on top of Ai's head, despite the height difference.