Total Command

Chapter 73: We love the things we love for what they are

Shoko was never a fan of flames.

Heat, in general, brought up bad memories. The skin around her scar started to ache softly, light enough to ignore but not to forget.

But in an inferno, where she was ordered not to use her ice to put it out? It was getting suffocating. She hated every moment of it, but the plan they had thrown together was too perfect to tear apart.

She could push through this. Just try to ignore the memories and add to the flames, let Katsumi handle the heavy lifting, allow your ice side to regulate your body enough to keep standing.

Simple. Oh so simple.

The flames roared as she fed them more heat, corrupting the fire Endeavour had spewed out at the start of the test.

Katsumi had already destroyed the main body of the tornado with an explosion, the shockwave unbalancing the microclimate and turning the pillar of red into a sea right out of hell, washing over the buildings.

That might've earned them a few docked points due to collateral. But hey, no civilians were injured.

Now she was hearing the tell-tale sounds of small explosions and the rushing of flame as Katsumi danced between attacking and retreating, not giving Endeavor time to cool down, all of her attacks missing the explosive speed-demon.

She couldn't help but smile. They weren't doing any damage, but the sight of her struggling was worth the failing grade if it came down to it.

"Icy-Hot, tag in!" the blonde called out, scrambling behind the cover she was in before a heavy torrent of fire whooshed against the crumbled piece of building, part of her mask burning up in the process. Katsumi managed to rip the fabric off before it got too close to her skin, hissing with annoyance. "Flame resistant, my ass..."

She took a few seconds to pant, looking at Shoko that looked frozen on her spot. "What's the hold-up?"

Shoko just stared at the flaming pile that was her mask, transfixed on it. It had gotten so close to burning Katsumi, just like she had been. Her left side started to feel colder and colder.

A light punch to her other side knocked her out of her trance, shaking her head and looking back to the-

She paused taking in the sharp but concerned look in Katsumi's eyes, her usually rage-fueled crimson eyes looked almost calm, staring right through her. "Don't let your ice act up, you're cooling the area down too much."

"Right," she breathed out, slowly calming down and regaining her control over her quirk. "Sorry..."

"We'll be sorry for real if we don't move," she mumbled and tossed one of the shards of glass to the side. It somehow managed to land against a pile of debris to act as a mirror to show them where Endeavor was standing, gasping with steam billowing around her as she attempted to cool down faster.

"She's glaring at us, might try to attack soon."

Shoko was still trying to take in the massive difference between the two Katsumi's. The moment they had entered battle her fighty exterior had melted away, her anger being quenched and tempered against her target like a master-crafted blade. It was fascinating to see.

Maybe she got like this in serious fights with people she genuinely hated? Shoko hadn't seen this side of her ever .

"Snowflame, focus," her partner grumbled, grabbing her by her arm to try and anchor her to reality again. "We need to go back to attacking before she cools down too much."