Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Clearing the Snow
Despite all of Todoroki's dramatic thinking earlier, he knew what his choice was going to be.
He'd keep going on, using his flames. It was all he could do.
Todoroki had spent his entire life training to be the number 1 hero, wanting to be the number 1 hero. Admiring All Might, and aspiring to be him.
Not to mention he didn't want to risk his father starting over with a different woman and trying for his "true masterpiece.".
He was going to make his father proud. And he was just gonna have to live with that.
And so he'd been spending laying awake all night, coming to terms with that, and trying not to vomit.
It was now early in the morning, and Todoroki was staring up at the ceiling, with bags in his eyes, dead tired but not in the mood to sleep.
Knock Knock Knock.
"Hiya Mr. Roki! I heard you may not be feeling great so a brought ya some breakfast!" Kei said on the other side of the door. "Don't worry it's ice and hot!"
On one hand, Todoroki really didn't wanna deal with anyone right now, but on the other hand-
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
That.
"Come in," Todoroki said in a very low, and weak-sounding voice, thanks to him being super tired.
Kei quickly opened the door and came in holding a tray of steamed rice, miso soup, and grilled fish. "Here's your food! I hope you can rice out of you're bed! By the way, Sato gives his best, fishes."
"I'm begging you, actually begging you. Please stop." Todoroki never thought such small children could cause him so much pain.
"Sorry. I was having too much pun." Kei giggled. "Ok, I'll stop."
"Thank you." Shoto sighed. "Just put the food on the table."
"Okay," Kei said, doing as she was told, and placing the food on a nearby table.
And then, she pulled up a chair next to his bed, sat in it, and started staring at him.
Shoto let out a long-suffering sigh. "What are you doing?"
"Why are you so upset?" Kei asked, ignoring his own question.
"Please I've had enough of being "helped"." Todoroki groaned.
"Is it because your parents hurt you?" Kei asked.
Todoroki let out an even louder groan. "Who told you, was it Yonda?"
Kei shook her head. "It was a guess. After all most of the problems here are caused by bad parents."
"...I should have seen that coming," Shoto said. He wanted to be upset that in his sleep-deprived state, he let himself reveal his secret to yet another person…but he was honestly just too tired to even muster up his usual rage.
"So is your daddy the reason you're so upset?" Kei asked innocently.
Todoroki sighed. It was clear that the girl wasn't gonna leave him alone anytime soon, so he'd need to find some way to persuade her. "Yes. He's been stuck in my mind, and I'm very very angry at him, but I'll have to do something that'll make him happy, and so I'm trying to accept that. So I need some time alone to think."
"Why?" Kei asked.
"Why what?" Todoroki groaned, wondering when she'd get the hint.
"Why do you need to do the thing that'll make him happy?" Kei asked him, giving him a concerned look. "Is he making you?"
He tried that and failed. Todoroki thought to himself. "No, this is something I need to do to make myself happy."
"Ok…is something bad gonna happen if your dad is happy too?" Kei asked curiously.
"The fact that he's happy is bad enough," Todoroki told her.
"Is he gonna do something bad if he's happy?" Kei asked.
"No, if anything he'll probably do something bad if he's not happy," Shoto explained. "I just don't like the thought of pleasing him after everything he's done."
"Then don't think about it," Kei answered.
"It's not that simple." Shoto immediately replied. "I can't just not think about it."
"Why not? Have you tried?" Kei asked.
Shoto opened his mouth to say something along the lines of "of course I have".
Before stopping, and really thinking about that question.
Had he really tried that? Did he ever really make an attempt to stop thinking about his father?
At any point in time, last night did he attempt to get his father out of his mind and go to sleep, or did he literally spend the entire night thinking about how much he hated his father. Literally allowing his father to take over his thoughts.
Actually, when he thought about it like that it was kind of pathetic.
Looking back even further, did he allow his father to slip his mind at any point in time really? At school, at home, outside, he'd think about his father, what he'd do if he were watching him, and how much he wanted to screw him over.
He'd think constantly about how to displease his father while he wasn't even watching. As if he thought that his father had some all-seeing or something.
And now, when he put it like that, it sounded even more pathetic.
So in truth, the answer to that question was-
"Absolutely not." Shoto accidentally answered as he stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.
"Why?" Kei asked again. "Why do you think about him so much if you hate him? Will something bad happen if you don't?"
"I…" Shoto took a second to think about that.
Well of course his father wouldn't be pleased if he just started ignoring him, but compared to what he was doing now, trying to spite him as much as possible, he'd probably prefer that more. And while he didn't like the idea of his father liking his actions, if did what Kei was suggesting and start ignoring him rather constantly keeping him in his thoughts, maybe he'd be happier.
"If you want to be happier, why don't you think of happy things?" Kei asked him.
Shoto stayed silent. What happy things? What would I think about if not my father…I can't think of anything that makes me happy, other than Cold Soba…is my life really that empty? Did it really take a couple of eight-year-olds for me to figure out how miserable I am? Or I guess how miserable my father was making me. After all, he forced me down this path.
When Kei noticed Shoto wasn't answering she frowned even more. "Are you having a hard time thinking about what makes you happy…Do you not want to be happy? Yami says you're always feeling sad or angry, and everyone else says you refuse to talk to them much, or make friends. So, do you just not want to be happy…I don't get it."
Do I not want to be happy. What a ridiculous question. Or at least I'd like to think that. I guess if you look at it from an outside perspective, I refuse to get a hobby, or play games, or make friends or…do literally anything that might make me happy…maybe it's not all my father's fault that I'm so miserable all the time. I mean he's definitely at least part of the problem but have I really done anything to make myself happy? Shoto thought. When I look back on my life, it just seems like I've spent half my time chasing an impossible goal, and the other half hating my father.
Shoto looked over at Kei, who was staring at him with a concerned expression. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?" Kei asked, looking confused.
"You've been through so much. Maybe more than I have. And yet here you are, smiling as if nothing ever happened." Shoto explained. "So many people hurt you. Even now some people think of you as a freak or a monster. Don't you hate them? Don't just despise them with every ounce of your being?"
"Why would I do that?" Kei asked him, looking a bit upset. "When my parents…my old parents…kicked me out, I did hate them at first. They were the first people I ever hated. It was my first time feeling like that. And it was gross. It made me throw up, and that was really bad because I needed all the food I could get. All hate does is make you feel worse, and make life harder. Mr. Roki, be honest, has hating your father actually done you any good?"
There was a long silence until Todoroki eventually responded. "I can't really say it has. But still…it can't be that simple. These feelings…they can't just disappear on a whim."
"Maybe not. It's probably harder for you than it is for me, but I'm sure you can do it!" Kei smiled at him. "It doesn't sound like you tried at all, so I'm sure if you put in the effort, you can stop feeling so much hate and finally be happy with your life!"
She made it sound so simple. But Todoroki couldn't imagine just moving on like that.
But it was probably worth a try, at the very least.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Ochaco stood outside of Yonda's room, with a determined expression on her face.
Alright, Ochaco. Izuku's too nice, so you gotta scold her yourself, let her know what she did was wrong, and explain how people could get hurt. Ochaco told herself.
You know I can hear you right? Yonda said from the other side of the door.
Oh crap! Wait ignore that word! Ochaco quickly tried to recover from her blunder.
Oh Ochaco, I know pretty much every curse word by now. Yonda told her, with Ochaco getting the impression she was laughing at her from behind the door. Why don't you come in, I've been expecting you.
Ok…Ochaco turned the doorknob, and entered the room, to find that Yonda really had been expecting her, she was sitting down at a small table, with some tea already made. Still hot, implying that Yonda knew not only that she was coming, but figured out around the exact time she was coming.
This girl is gonna be someone scary in the future. Ochaco thought to herself.
Thank you, I try really really hard to give that impression. Yonda said, smiling brightly at her, before motioning to the seat across from her. Please sit down, I have a feeling this talk is going to take a lot of time, so it would be great if you could make yourself comfortable.
I take it back, this girl is scary now. Ochaco thought as she sat down.
Yonda was just a very unnerving person. She knew everything going on in your head, nothing you thought was kept secret from her, and even now that she was grounded, and she knew Ochaco was coming to scold her, she had a big friendly grin on her face, and acted like she was in full control of the situation.
Now, before we continue, I would like to clear something up. Yonda told her, while she poured her some tea. What happened with Todoroki, is absolutely not something I would do or would like to do often. I understand the consequences of my actions, being that they hurt people's trust in me, and they can be damaging to people's feelings. However I really thought that someone's life could be in danger, so I thought this approach may be justified.
And just like that Ochaco had to rethink what she was going to start with. Ok…what about Kioku? Did you think Kioku's life was in danger when you manipulated her?
No. And had Yami not approached me, and then bribed me, I most likely would not have gotten involved. Given how quickly, and easily Yonda said that, Ochaco figured she likely predicted that she'd bring that up, and already come up with a response. In fact, now that Ochaco thought about it, it was likely that Yonda had practiced for this conversation. But I saw a chance to help my sister, and get paid, so I did what I did. Was it right? No. And if I could go back, I would likely have tried a less manipulative and more subtle approach to finding out what was bothering Kioku. I've learned my lesson from that example and will act accordingly going forward.
You say that, but you still manipulated people to try and "help" them. Ochaco pointed out.
Well, that's where the comparison between then and now falls apart. Back then if I hadn't acted at worst Kioku would become a…what was the word again…ah yes recluse! Something that, while sad, wouldn't completely obstruct her from living a long, happy life. If I hadn't acted here, the worst is that Shoto Todoroki would live an unfulfilled life attempting to achieve something that's beyond his grasp, and eventually encounter a villain that will overpower him using only his ice, and kill him, as well as all the people he was attempting to defend. Yonda responded. In other words, I don't think two situations are all that proportional.
Well…you're not wrong. Ochaco admitted, wincing slightly as she imagined Yonda's proposed, worst-case scenario. But you don't know that's going to happen. I would understand if you KNEW for certain that that would happen if you didn't do what you did, but what if none of that ever happened! What if he just learned to use his fire on his own, or if principal Nezu or Aizawa helped him, or if that scenario just never happened, and he lived his life just fine using his ice.
Yonda sighed. Alright, let's start with your last point. What if he lived his life just fine with only using his ice. Firstly, there are many, many villains who either have the ability to break his ice, or simply melt it, and he would be handily defeated by a good amount of them. At best he would need to be saved or supported by other heroes, at worst well, you know. And given how against working with others he is, it's far more likely that the latter will occur. And while it is entirely possible for him to simply never encounter these villains, it's about equally as likely for him to run into them, especially if he's gunning for the number 1 spot, as years go on and he's still not even in the top ten, he'll get more and more desperate to prove that he doesn't need his fire, until that leads his death. In fact, looking at all those facts, I'd say far more likely for him to encounter villains he won't be able to beat, than not. And as I said earlier, given his lone wolf nature, it's unlikely for him to have people around to help him should he get in over his head. Putting all those facts together, what do you think is the most likely scenario if Todoroki continued only to use his ice?
It would be…really not good. Ochaco cringed. She didn't expect the girl to completely dismantle her point like that.
Exactly, so we're both in agreeance that Todoroki NEEDED to start using his fire correct? Yonda asked her.
I mean…I guess so. Ochaco admitted.
Perfect, now onto your first point, him getting over his trauma and learning to use his fire on his own. Yonda moved on. While that's not impossible, it's incredibly unlikely. Todoroki was clearly someone who so focused on his goal, that he completely ignored reality and the possible consequences of his actions. The only way I was able to save him from his delusions, was via a cleverly thought out plan that would shatter any sort of justification in his mind for using only his ice, no matter how unrealistic it may be. Of course, this can happen naturally without my intervention, but it's not anywhere near assured. Let's say for example, that you and Todoroki had fought during the sports festival. In that scenario, you would lose. Because Todoroki has a huge advantage given the arena, because you can only go forward, directly at him, and nothing is stopping him from spamming ice walls at you. And if anyone else beat Todoroki, like say Bakugo, he could just say to himself that he'll train to become stronger than them. I needed YOU to beat him because once he sees that even as strong as he is, he can't beat you at less than a quarter of you're power, it'll be harder for him to justify thinking he can grow stronger than you, at least with just his ice. Bakugo doesn't shout 19% explosion! Nor could he beat Todoroki with that little power. It needed to be you. Of course, it is possible that you could beat him at the sports festival or in training if you used a higher percentage, but then that would defeat the point. If you beat Todoroki at 50%, then he might be able to delude himself into thinking that he can grow strong enough to beat you one day. The less power you use to beat him, the harder reality hits him. Again, not impossible this realization could have happened some other way, but it's just very, very unlikely.
Ochaco stared at her in awe for a few moments. She put so much thought into this.
Yonda pouted at her. Of course, I did! I was messing around with people's emotions and telling lies for the sake of trying to save someone's life. That's not something you do without thinking. I spent pretty much a whole day thinking over the possibilities of my actions or inaction.
Well, I'm glad she at least thought it over. Ochaco thought.
Now onto your last point. Yonda said, not giving Ochaco any time to think. About allowing principal Nezu, or your teacher Aizawa, to handle the situation. And on paper, that may sound like a good idea. They're both supposed to be smart people, in charge of helping Todoroki grow as a hero, and be the best he can be, and more. Plus Ultra and all that. One big issue I have with that. I don't know Nezu or Aizawa. You see I'm not the kind of person who likes leaving matters to others unless I can be sure that they'll do what's expected of them, and do it well. And while I'm sure Aizawa and Nezu are at least competent, especially Nezu given his quirk, I have no reason to believe they will actually take interest and help him. Yes, they are his teacher and principal respectively, however, if father's past has taught us anything, it's that teachers and principals can be completely indifferent to a student's plight, or ill behavior. And since I don't know them personally, I have to do by their actions to see if they are those kinds of teachers. So tell me Ocahco, what have the U.A. staff done about Mineta's actions towards the girls? About Mina's reckless, thoughtless actions? About Todoroki's obviously troublesome mindset? Have you seen Aizawa, Nezu, or anyone at U.A. do something, literally anything to put a stop to these behaviors?
Ochaco took a second to think about that. What had U.A. done about Mineta's perving? Sure the girls themselves would often smack Mineta around as punishment for his antics. But was that enough? And even then should punishing students really be left up to other students? And what about Mina? Sure she'd get scolded every now and again and sometimes she'd get a bit more work. But clearly, that wasn't enough as Mina didn't twice about absent-mindedly drugging her classmates.
And had they really done anything about Todoroki? Sure Ochaco herself hadn't noticed how bad the boy's mental state was up until recently, but she was a student. Surely the teachers should be better at seeing this stuff and doing something about it.
But to the best of her memory, U.A. seemed to have done nothing.
Maybe it's just too soon. I mean there is a whole three years for them to do something about those three. Ochaco rationalized.
Endeavor. Yonda countered, giving her a deadpan expression. Now, I'm not going to give you any more information about Todoroki's situation than you already know. But since I can read your mind, I already know that you've figured out that Endeavor is the cause for Todoroki being the way that he is. Endeavor was also a U.A. student. So clearly, U.A. has completely ignored troublesome behavior in the past, so what makes you think it's different now? I don't think Aizawa was a teacher back then, but Aizawa is shown to expel any student he finds "lacks potential" which sounds like to me as "anyone one who's difficult to work with". So judging from that, I have every reason to believe that Aizawa didn't just ignore Todoroki's troublesome mindset, he would expel him without trying too much, where then Todoroki would get picked up by a new school, because he's the son of the number 2 hero, and having him study at their schools is big reputation boost. Where they would likely do something similar to what father's schools did with Bakugo, and treat him like a king, never challenging him or trying to change anything, allowing him to become a pro hero with only his ice. And we've already discussed why that's not good.
Ochaco really wanted to find a hole in that argument. Because she trusted Aizawa. And she trusted Nezu.
But she couldn't deny anything Yonda said without lying, and lying wouldn't work because she could read minds.
The only argument she had for trusting those two was, I know them and I trust them. And that was a very flimsy argument, and one unlikely to work.
In summary, yes. You are completely correct, there is a chance that I could have not intervened and things would have turned out fine, however, there is a much greater chance that if I hadn't intervened, something truly terrible would have happened. Yonda told her, smiling at her gently. If you have any solutions that aren't extremely unlikely to work or extremely unlikely to happen or rely on unreliable factors, please tell me. I'm eager to learn what it is.
And so, began a long period of silence.
Ochaco tried her best to come up with a satisfactory answer, that didn't boil down to "just trust me".
You see, even though you have no argument against me, you're still convinced that I'm wrong. Why is that? Yonda asked her, in a tone of voice implying the question was rhetorical. You see when you read people's minds, you quickly learn that everyone has their own truth. Something they either believe to be true or desperately want to be true. This can be the same thing as what's actually true, but their plenty of cases where what people want to be true, or believe to be true, is very different from the actual truth. When this happens, people will often do everything in their power to try and confirm their own truth, and deny the real truth. This is what we call, a delusion. Denying reality for the sake of a more comfortable lie. We talked about this with Todoroki. Todoroki believed that he could become the number 1 hero with only half his power. You, on the other hand, want to believe that there is a reliable solution to this problem, that doesn't involve such underhanded and disliked methods. You can't think of this method, but passionately believe that such a solution exists. Because believing me would go against your own beliefs and values. The same can be said for my father, however, the difference there is that father understands how to compromise his morals to an extent, in order to help others. He's done it multiple times and will continue having to do it. He's even benefited from my methods before. Which is why he has a hard time punishing me. Well that and other reasons, but we're not at that part of the script yet.
That part of the script? Ochaco thought, confused by that statement.
You, on the other hand, have never had to make any major moral decisions before. Yonda said before her smile grew a bit. At least not knowingly.
Ochaco felt a bit of dread fill her, and a chill shot down her spine. What does that mean?
Do you think it's moral to rig a competition? Yonda asked.
No? Ochaco didn't know where this was going, but it was scaring her a bit.
You don't? That's interesting. Because you are aware that the very concept of One for All, rigs the whole hero ranking system right? Yonda pointed out.
I…what? Ochaco was taken aback by that.
You really haven't thought about it, have you? Yonda shook her head, although she was still grinning ear to ear. Anyone who gets One for All is guaranteed to become the number 1 hero. You get all of All Might's incredible power, and more, as well as your, own quirk. Tell me, do you think anyone can surpass All Might in power? Excluding All for One?
Ochaco thought about that for a minute. It was really, really hard to imagine someone with a power that surpassed All Might. Even in the new generation. Sure Bakugo and Todoroki were strong, but she couldn't imagine them growing stronger than Star and Stripe let alone All Might.
And she was going to get stronger than All Might. Add that to her gravity manipulation power…and they didn't stand a chance. It wasn't even close to fair.
Its…it's not that simple. Ochaco told her, sweating a little bit as tried to explain. Being number 1 isn't just about power. It's about how many people you save, your popularity, and how well you work as a hero.
Oh, Ochaco, you'll be able to move faster than every other hero by power walking, of course, you're going to save more people and stop more villains. Yonda told her. And power sells you know. When people think of All Might, some people may think of his smile, but most are focused on his incredible power. People will gravitate towards those with power, and worship them. And as a person who'll get even stronger than All Might, inevitably your power will attract that same worship. Even if you didn't want to be the number 1 hero, you'd still likely become number 1 anyway. That power is not exactly something that can be kept under wraps. Tell me Ochaco, are you going to try your best to do your job as a hero and save the lives of the innocent while taking down villains?
Yes. Ochaco answered in her head instantly.
Then you're going to become the number 1 hero. Because you'll be able to do those things faster, and better than everyone else. Yonda explained. Everyone else beneath you will try more and more to grow as strong as you, or more popular than you, but they'll never succeed. And next-generation, it'll repeat, with someone even stronger taking your place. And the best part, people still think they have a chance. They don't know about One for All. They don't know that a quirk can't get that strong naturally. So they still think they have a chance! Imagine this, let's say that someone like my father is born, but with a strong quirk. He dreams of becoming the number 1 hero. Spends his entire life working, and training towards becoming number 1, all without the knowledge that only the person selected to get One for All could ever really be number 1. He works and worlds towards his dreams but his efforts are for not. Imagine how crushed he must feel, year after year, to not be able to achieve his dream. Now imagine how he'd feel if he knew the game was rigged the whole time.
Ochaco was now feeling a little sick to her stomach. When she laid it out like that, the hero ranking system really did just raise people's hopes, by placing a dream in front of them, and never allowing them to reach that dream unless they had One for All, or unless One for All went away.
But that can't happen. One for All can be used to save so many more people…It needs to be there even if it means making the hero ranking system horribly unfair. Ocahco thought.
So what you're thinking is, it's ok to hurt people's feelings, lie to them and break their spirits even, so long as it results in saving people's lives. Yonda summarized with a smile. Gee Ochaco, that sure sounds familiar.
That's not…it's not the same. Ochaco thought.
I'm sure it's not. Aside from scale, I'm sure I'm missing some big important detail that makes these two things different. But they are, similar. Yonda told her. You made a choice to continue doing something that All Might started that goes against what you think is moral, and will ultimately hurt people on an emotional level, all the greater good. And you did so easily, that you didn't even notice until now.
Now wasn't that a horrifying thought, that added to the sick feeling Ochaco felt in her stomach. She'd gone against her own morals without noticing. It was that easy. At least Yonda put thought into what she did, but Ochaco literally just noticed the implications of One for All's effects on the hero system, just now.
Don't feel too bad. Literally, everyone is a hypocrite in some way. Myself included. Yonda reassured her. And while One for All does rig the hero ranking system, the hero ranking system was already incredibly unfair in the first place. Do you have a powerful flashy quirk? Do you have a likable personality or at least can pretend to have a likable personality? Are you attractive? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you're not becoming the number 1 hero. You may rank highly, but you'll never reach number 1. At worst, you've turned the hero ranking process into a system that only lets a couple dozen people become number 1, into a system that only lets one person become number 1. And even then, it's not like you don't have to put in a fair amount of work. But my point still stands.
I…I see…and here I thought Mina was thoughtless. Ochaco shook her head.
Oh, she is. Yonda grimaced. If you were as thoughtless as her this conversation would have been much worse…for me that is. Speaking of which, we are at the end of the scripted presentation.
The what? Ochaco asked, staring blankly at her.
Yonda then proceeds to pull out, a huge script, and push it in front of her. Here you go. You can keep it if you like.
Ochaco took a look at the script, and her mind broke for a second.
When she got suspicious that Yonda anticipated this conversation and made plans for it, she didn't that Yonda literally predicted everything she was going to say, all of her arguments and responses, and then wrote her own counters to them, which explains how she was able to respond to her so quickly and thoroughly.
Sure it wasn't technically 100% accurate. The exact wording was off, and the way Ochaco delivered her arguments was different from how script Ochaco did it.
But it was accurate enough to freak her out.
What didn't help was at the end it said. "And then Ochaco stared at the script wide-eyed in shock and slight terror."
A bit of trolling on the younger girl's part.
This is…this is insane. Ochaco told her.
Of course, it is! Did you forget that I'm an O.P.C. too? Yonda reminded her. I'm a child that the government thought was too dangerous to be part of society without help. I can't punch down buildings like Kiba, knock down forests like Kai, or set everything on fire like Netsu. THIS is what makes me so scary.
Funny enough, Ochaco often would forget that Yonda was an O.P.C. She never broke anything, or set anything on fire, or dissolved anything in acid.
But now she'd never forget it.
I don't really like showing people this side of me. Because it makes it harder for me to get what I want. But I don't mind it if it's you. I like you. Yonda told her. And I owe you after I used you like I did. I want you to know me even better. So, how about we have a long, long talk.
Ochaco gave her an apprehensive look. On one hand, this girl made her very uncomfortable. She just didn't agree with the way she looked at things, and how she handled things.
But at the same time. She was a little girl, whose quirk made her look at the world in an entirely different way. And it's not like she was a bad person, or wanted to do bad or selfish things.
Maybe if she understood her more, she'd be able to feel more comfortable around her.
Ok then, what do you want to talk about first? Ochaco asked her.
And Yonda gave her the widest smile yet.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone