Chapter Text
It was cold. The kind of cold that periodically sends sharp shivers through your body; that forces your body to cut off vital circulation to your fingers and toes, leaving them so that with the slightest of touches they could be mistaken for icicles. The kind of cold that could freeze your soul, ridding every part of you of the warmth you so desperately needed.
Maybe it was the rain outside, the dark stormy clouds blocking the warm rays of the sun from reaching the people bound to the earth's surface. Or maybe it was just the numb feeling that had seemingly placed a chokehold on Aiko, unwilling to loosen its grip even a little bit.
Either way, the unfamiliar feeling of cold had frozen her in place. She wasn't used to it, especially considering her quirk usually provided her with more than enough warmth. This feeling was one that she hated, but one that she just couldn't bring herself to do anything about.
"Aiko? How are you feeling?". Aiko barely lifted her head from its position in between her knees, her small body tucked into itself, mimicking a ball forgotten in a corner, years of built-up dirt and grime coating its exterior.
She looked utterly defeated. Her long, curly, reddish-brown hair draped over her face, barely allowing the sight of her solemn honey-brown eyes. Her body, at least what was visible, was covered in soot marks; cuts and bruises were scattered about her with the occasional spatter of blood staining her deep-tan skin and clothes, all further proving the severity of her condition.
"Yeah, I'm fine Shoto," She mumbled.
Shoto just sighed as he looked at his sister, her state worrying him to no end. Nothing about what he was looking at was fine.
"Aiko, please," he sighed as he sat down in front of her, his hand tentatively reaching out to lay atop her practically frozen one. He slowly activated his quirk on his left side, hoping the heat would help her just a bit.
Aiko just stayed silent as she peeked at Shoto through her hair. Her ability to speak practically being ripped from her the second Shoto gave her that look.
He had always been able to see right through her. He knew her better than anyone else, so it was no shock that her half-assed lie hadn't managed to convince him even for a second.
"Shoto, please. I can't... I can't," She pleaded, finding her voice just enough to convey that much to him.
She couldn't handle talking, she couldn't handle moving, hell, she could barely handle thinking at that moment.
"Then don't. You don't have to do anything. I'm right here, we'll get through this together. Like we always do,".
Shoto's optimism was completely out of character. He had never been the optimistic type. Even though he had only been alive for 10 years, optimism wasn't something you could really afford to have in his circumstances. But it was needed at that moment, he knew that, he understood that.
Aiko needed just a little bit of optimism to be able to pick herself up off of the ground, to break free from her mind.
"I don't know if I can this time, Shoto," Aiko cried, that outer shell of numbness slowly starting to crumble as a single tear dropped from the corner of her eye.
She felt so guilty at that moment. For the last 6 years, she had spent every possible moment protecting Shoto, but she couldn't even bring herself to look at him. She couldn't even think about giving him the hug that she knew he desperately needed. She knew she wasn't the only one hurting, but she just... couldn't.
"We don't have a choice. He's gone which means Endeavor will just get worse," Shoto forced out, the words "he's gone" tasted so bitter on his tongue that he almost couldn't utter them.
"I know. I know. I know," Aiko repeated, the echoing of her voice doing nothing to ease her racing mind.
The memories of him: his smile, his laugh, his moments of anger, the times where he did everything in his power to protect them, they wouldn't stop replaying in her mind.
It was like a broken TV, stuck on the same channel and no matter how many times you cursed it, how many times you jammed the buttons on the remote, how many times you just outright punched the janky piece of technology, it just wouldn't change.
Aiko tried so hard, pleading with herself for hours just to get her mind to stop. She didn't want to be reminded of her brother. She didn't want to relive the memories of him. She wanted to forget him. She wanted to forget his name, the stupid nickname he had called her since the moment she met him, the way his smile always seemed to take up half of his face, the moments where she finally felt safe with him around.
She wanted to forget he ever existed because that was easier than dealing with reality.
It was easier than accepting the fact that just 5 months after the death of her mother, her protector, her everything- she had lost yet another person, another protector. She had lost her oldest brother.
"Touya's dead. He's dead and there's nothing that I can do about it. It's just me and you, Shoto. It's just me and you,".
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Below is a character description that includes Aiko's stats and quirk description.
Full Name: Aiko Todoroki
Class: Hero Course 1-A
Birthday: November 11th
Height: 170 cm (5'7)
Blood Type: O positive
Favorite things: Cold soba and music... that's about it. Oh, and pissing off Endeavor.
Fighting Style: Aiko is a very versatile fighter, she uses technique and wits to outdo her opponent. She prefers close quarters combat but her quirk allows her to handle long range attacks as well.
Quirk: Flames. Aiko has a very intense fire quirk. She has way more control over her flames than other fire quirk users as she is able to not only control the temperature of the flames she produces, but she also has a mental connection with her flames that is so strong that she can control what it burns, making it versatile in use and safer on her body. Her eyes change color based on the flames she is using, when she is using low-temperature red-orange flames her eyes glow a dull red, but as she increases the temperature of her flames, her eyes become more vibrant and change color to match her flames.
Weakness: The longer she uses her higher-temperature flames, the less control she has over them. She also passes out when overheated and over-exertion can cause some scarring to appear. It only happens on rare occasions and they heal fairly quickly. The less rested she is, the less control she has over her flames since it's easier for her emotions to take over, so sleep is crucial.
Power: 5 Speed: 4 Technique: 5 Intelligence: 4 Cooperativeness: 3
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