A Dragon's Heart // Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Chapter 19: Up in Flames

Cold air brushed against the exposed skin on the back of my neck; it was early dawn, and I still felt half asleep. I sluggishly tied my black hair into a messy bun as Shouta began introducing our tasks for the day.

"Good morning, class! Today we begin the training camp that will increase your strength. Our goal is to increase your skills exponentially so that each of you earns a provisional license. This will allow you to face the dangers that continue to fester in the darkness," Shouta explained.

"How poetic," I uttered. His dark eyes snapped to mine as he glared slightly at me.

"Anyway, proceed carefully. Look alive, Bakugo," he continued, throwing Bakugo a ball. "Try throwing that for me."

"Yeah, sure," Bakugo replied. "Like in the fitness test?"

"I don't remember doing a fitness test," I said in a confused tone as my eyebrows knitted together.

"Because your enrollment was late, and you missed it," Shouta snapped. "When you first started school, Bakugo, your record was 705 meters. Let's see if you've improved," Shouta said. Bakugo moved away from our class and prepared his arms to throw the ball.

"Go to hell!" Bakugo screamed as he threw the ball up into the air and out of sight.

"That was 709.6 meters," Shouta said in a flat tone. "You've had a single semester at UA, and due to your various experiences, all of you have definitely improved. But those improvements have mostly been limited to mental prowess and technical skill," he said with his hands buried in his pockets. He strode from side to side as he continued talking. "Your quirks haven't really grown that much stronger. Not on a fundamental level. That's why we're now going to focus on improving your powers. This will be so hard you will feel like you're dying."

A sigh escaped my lips as my uncle continued to explain to each student individually what they would be doing for the next few hours. Shouta finally came up to me.

"Amara, your quirk is difficult because you are immune to various elements, so there's no point in getting you used to them," he informed me.

"So, what will I get to do then?" I asked. "Can I take a nap instead?"

"You can't use two elements at once, correct?" he asked me, ignoring my nap request.

"Not yet," I sighed.

"Well, you now know what you'll be working on. Try using your fire and ice at the same time," he said. I groaned but listened. "Go somewhere far away so that you don't interrupt your classmates," he instructed bossily.

"Yes, sir," I forced a smile before moving away from him and everyone else. My face sunk back into its normal emotionless expression. I stood at the foot of a mountain, brought my dragon claws out, and slammed them into the wall. I used them to climb the height of the mountain. My arms tired as my pants became unbearable, but I finally made it to the top. I peered down at my classmates below; they reminded me of ants.

I discarded my distracted thoughts and sat myself onto the dirt. My legs crossed, I raised my right hand with my palm facing the sky. Within an instant, a pure red flame stood. It quietly swayed in the slight breeze around me. I raised my other hand and brought it next to my flame. I concentrated on creating an ice shard of some description, but there was no sign of ice forming within the palm of my hand. My face contorted with concentration, and eventually, small specks of light blue ice shards formed along the pores of my skin. A smile crossed my lips, but it faltered when I noticed the flame on my other hand had shrunk.

I shook both hands, causing both elements to fade. I crawled over to the edge of the mountain cliff and observed my classmates from down below. I saw Shoto's ice ripple out in giant circles from around him before it became replaced with a ripple of fire. Everyone seemed to be working hard but me. My legs hung over the edge as I leaned back, supporting my weight with my arms. The sky was barren of any clouds, and the sun was positioned perfectly in the center, indicating to me that we were only just beginning.

It hit me: if I could draw out small things like my dragon claws in human form, is it possible to draw out bigger things like my dragon tail or wings? I glanced down at my scrunched-up hands, relaxed them, and imagined my dragon claws. Soon enough, my nails grew into black dragon talons several inches long. I decided to do the same with my dragon wings. My eyes closed as I imagined the bat-like shape of my black dragon wings; I imagined them on my back, similar to my thought process with my claws. I opened my eyes and twisted an arm behind me to feel my shoulder blades.

No wings.

Oh well, I'd rather take a nap anyway...

__________ Dinner that night ___________

"We have to cook ourselves? That sounds like fun!" I chimed as I picked up a knife. Shoto hastily snatched it from my fingers.

"No offense, darling, but how about you let me cook?" Shoto asked me as he averted his gaze towards the collection of vegetables I had collected for the curry.

"But why?" I pouted.

"I've seen you cook, and well, you may be fireproof, but no one else is," he teased.

"Hey Todoroki or Amara? Can one of you guys please help us light these?" I heard Ashido call out.

"How about you help them, and I'll cook dinner?" he offered, causing me to smile. I got high up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his cheek.

"You're a good little housewife, aren't you?" I teased.

"What?" He gave me a confused look. But I had already left; I moved towards Ashido and the others. I bent down, summoned my fire in small amounts within the palm of my hand, and used it to light the stoves around me.

"Thank you, Amara!" Uraraka beamed at me before she surprised me with a hug. "You're not all that scary; at your core, you're really a sweetheart," she said. She let go of me and continued to smile. My face became painted a light pink hue as I moved away and made my way back to Shoto. He had already cut all the vegetables into small pieces.

"You're really good at that, huh," I complimented. He smiled softly at me before he slid the vegetables into the pot. I heard a scream from behind and turned around to see what was happening, only to find Yaoyorozu's curry pot had caught aflame. Flames angrily grew from the pot on the stove as groups of people backed away. I swiftly moved over to the flaming pot and picked up its handles with my bare hands. The flame or heat didn't seem to bother me at all, but I could feel the flames eat the fabric of my clothes. I quickly moved the flaming pot from hell away and threw it into a nearby lake. Water splashed everywhere, but the fire had disappeared.

"Amara! That was my dinner!" Yaoyorozu yelled at me.

"I didn't think charcoal had much nutritional value," I smirked. "You're welcome, stupid Tree." I swatted the tiny flames that ate away at parts of my black shirt.

I really liked this shirt. I groaned internally.

I saw her face soften. "Yeah, thank you," she mumbled.

"Amara, you're really amazing!" Jirou complimented.

"Amara, your shirt!" Uraraka yelled as she pointed at the patches of bare skin that were visible. Upon further inspection, I found that half of my shirt had been burnt away.

Why do my clothes have a habit of disappearing all the time? I wondered.

I folded my arms over my exposed chest. Shoto came to my rescue when he unzipped his black jacket and handed it to me. I eagerly wrapped the warm cotton fabric around me, savoring the sweet scent of him.

"And I thought Amara was bad at cooking. Yaoyorozu, you are probably a close second in the worst cooks I know," Shoto said, causing everyone to laugh gleefully. I felt like I had finally started to fit in amongst these people, my classmates.

I felt happy.