Shoto Todoroki slumps to a hospital chair in exhaustion. His hands are still shaking, although the red and green splotches smearing them have already crusted over. In a normal situation, using his fire quirk shouldn't have taken this much out of him. But, under no condition that can be called normal.
Human. He has just pulled a rock spike out of a human. He has just burned a human.
At the back of his mind, he knows it was the right thing to do. The girl he found was fatally injured. The spike had been missing barely a few centimeters from her solar plexus. If he had waited for help to come, she wouldn't have survived.
There was simply no other choice. Blood was gushing out from her like tap water, although he had pressed his jacket over her wound, desperately trying to control the bleeding. But, it didn't stop. It continued to pour out endlessly, soaking his shirt, drenching both his knees in a pond of her life essence.
All that was left for him was to gamble it. On a risky method he never gave so much as a glance.
I don't even know if I burned her too little or too much... I hesitated for quite some time back then. What if it had been too late and she didn't make it as a result?
It is the standard field procedure he learned from his father. Still, ejecting an item from a stab and cauterizing a wound unnerved him greatly. Besides, with his current skill and knowledge, who can say his fire hasn't ended up killing her instead of saving her?
Would I be able to perform the same procedure if required next time? My old man... He must've been more experienced. I wonder how many times he had to pull this off...
Had I been less hell-bent on avoiding him and actually made some time to go over the details, would I have been able to execute it correctly?
Todoroki rests his head on the wall, blowing out a heavy sigh. I can't believe I regret having cut down my time with him, even if it's merely for practice.
His blank eyes stare ahead, mindlessly observing the doctors and nurses walking in and out of the emergency room. A couple of times, they also bring a police officer with them. Strange, is it normal to invite a police officer during a critical surgery?
He doesn't pay attention to how long he has been sitting there, brooding at the end of a hospital corridor, until his homeroom teacher arrives at last.
"Todoroki," Aizawa grunts gruffly, walking up to him with long strides, a tinge of worry flickering in his dark eyes. "Are you all right?"
Todoroki nods, a wave of relief washing over him now that Aizawa is here. When the police asked him to call an adult to accompany him through everything, he specifically requested his homeroom teacher. Calling his old man was out of the question; that old man would just make a ruckus over this.
"They've told me what happened." Aizawa scans his body from head to toe to make sure he's alright.
Though Todoroki maintains an impassive expression, Aizawa sees through it. He can tell Todoroki is shaken by the gravity of the situation.
"Will she be okay?" Todoroki's questions spill out in a rush, his voice tinged with a tremor. "There was no anesthesia, and I... I wasn't prepared. It must have been excruciating for her. Even after I cauterized her wound, her bleeding hadn't completely stopped when I brought her here, but I couldn't do more. If I ended up using too much of my fire quirk—"
"Hey, Todoroki," Aizawa interrupts softly. "What you did was enough to tide her over until she arrived in the ER. Your quick thinking and handling of the crisis saved her life. You did well. Be proud of that."
"… Thanks," Todoroki replies, feeling a weight lifted from his heart after Aizawa's reassuring words.
Not too long after, a policeman comes to them. He nods to Aizawa before speaking, "So... Shoto Todoroki, is it? I was informed that you are the one who found the girl."
Todoroki nods shortly. "How is she?"
"Thanks to your first aid, she will survive." Upon the officer's confirmation, a wave of great relief washes over Todoroki. His gamble has paid off. At the very least, the girl will live. "I'm glad you didn't waste any time. One minute later and she would have been beyond help. However, I'm here to ask you a few questions, Todoroki-san. Please cooperate. How did you find her?"
Up until now, the officer actually hasn't done anything untypical. However, something feels off to Todoroki. He has no idea what it is, so he decides to comply for now.
"I was actually headed to this hospital to visit my mother. But, when I passed the kids' playground, I saw a body lying on the ground. Perhaps, I wasn't the first to see her. But, from a distance, her injury wasn't visible—partly due to her large coat. I would have assumed that she was sleeping if not for that. It's strange to see a person wearing a winter coat at the beginning of summer. I thought she had fainted from a heatstroke. I didn't expect it to be a stab injury."
"So, by the time you arrive, she was already stabbed and lying on the ground?" the policeman confirms, to which Todoroki replies with a nod. "Did you happen to see her attacker?"
"No."
"Do you... know her?"
Todoroki narrows his eyes at his question, the gears in his brain turning. Something definitely isn't right. This officer hasn't even once mentioned the girl's name, and now he is asking him for her identity instead.
It shouldn't be hard for the police to get that kind of information on people—civilians, heroes, and villains alike. If he resorts to this, could it be that they have failed in identifying her?
Todoroki shakes his head and asks back, "Is there something wrong?"
"There is no official record about her at all," the officer answers with a clipped tone.
As Todoroki tries to process the information, Aizawa speaks up, "No birth records?"
"None." The policeman flips over the documents in his hand, scouring each page. "No school papers, no family registration, no missing person information. No legal traces lead to her."
"That's absurd." Aizawa scowls in irk. "There's no way the police didn't find any clues."
"Actually, we did, but..." The police officer's dark eyes dart to Todoroki immediately. "Eraser Head, I think we should discuss this privately."
"Todoroki is the one involved in this case. I don't see why you can't tell him."
"Well, if you're sure." he nods politely, then begins explaining, "After no hit came up, the investigation department attempted to match her DNA with the villain database—"
"Hold up. Why the villain?" Aizawa interrupts. He knows unregistered people like this girl often come from the villain's side, but usually, the police search for their civilian or hero relatives first.
"Physical signs of... captivity." the man looks away in discomfort. "She sustains shackle blisters around her ankle, and her feet are covered with frostbites."
"Frostbite? But, this is summer." Todoroki puts one hand on his chin, thoughts running miles per hour. Is there any villain with an ice quirk? If only Midoriya was here, he would probably be able to pop out the answer in a second.
"What else?" Aizawa pushes, sensing he still has something to say.
"It's her blood," the man says, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Oh," Todoroki recalls, his mismatched brows furrowed in contemplation. "I remember now. She did bleed a little green among the usual red."
"Green blood?" Aizawa inhales sharply at his comment, eyes flicking to the green blots on Todoroki's shirt. A hypothesis forms at the back of his mind right away. "What is her eye color, Todoroki?"
"Bright green, almost lime," Todoroki answers, a puzzled expression crossing his face.
The erasure hero's gaze immediately flits to the police officer, who nods with a grim expression. "Her DNA matches with her. Eraser Head, your student here has just found Hanakiri's daughter."
A flash of white and blush-pink swirled before Aizawa's eyes, whisking him back to his early pro hero career.
His black eyes met fierce, bright green ones. His fingers stuttered around the capturing weapon around his neck. He hesitated only for a split second, but it was a grave mistake. His world spun as his face crashed into the cold ground. A thunderous headache split his skull, and his eyeballs felt like they were freezing in snow slush.
His windpipe was crushed by a petal-like foreleg—deceptively soft yet powerful enough to break his will in seconds. The chokehold vanished as gunshots echoed around them, mingling with her inhuman growl and the green blood seeping into the snow beside him. His eyes rolled back as darkness claimed him.
"Who is Hanakiri?"
Aizawa blinks at Todoroki's question, the hospital's chatter replacing her savage battle cry and the desperate shouts of his backup team in his mind.
"A villain with a flower mantis transformation quirk," Aizawa answers curtly. "The hunt for her stretches back nearly eight years."
Todoroki feels like his teacher's answer only raises more questions. "That long and she's still out there?"
"Hanakiri was hard to pin down. We also were never sure what triggered her appearances or what drove her." the police officer rubs the back of his head, sighing. "She showed up at random times and places in her mantis form. When she did, her reaction time and speed were unbeatable. By the time help arrived, it was usually too late. The victims were already down, like flies."
"Endeavor never told you this?" Aizawa turns to Todoroki, who is quietly processing the information. "Although he failed, he was the only one who came close to capturing her a few years ago before she went under the radar."
Did he or didn't he? Todoroki crosses his arms, trying to recall memories of his father. It's tough because he usually tunes out whatever his old man starts talking, or simply walks out of the room. "Perhaps," he admits, "but I never asked for the details."
"Anyway, let's focus on the current issue," Aizawa hisses sharply. "Why this sudden revelation? If Hanakiri had a daughter all along, why is this surfacing only now? If the timeline aligns, she was around seven or eight when Hanakiri started causing trouble. Where has this daughter been all this time before she was found, nearly dead, by Todoroki?"
"We're still inspecting the matter further." the police officer turns his head to Aizawa and Todoroki with a serious expression. "And now that you know..."
"Yeah?"
"In the near future, we may need your assistance." he nods towards Aizawa. "Only if you're willing and if you allow Todoroki-san to be involved too, of course."
"I understand you want me to monitor her in case she uses her quirk to harm people." Aizawa clicks his tongue in annoyance. "But, why do you have to drag Todoroki into this?"
"It's for questioning," the officer explains. "Todoroki-san is close to her age. Teens often open up more to peers. Plus, he rescued her. While we conduct our investigation, her spending some time with him may yield more clues. And it could offer her comfort to have someone to confide in. Of course, we'll only involve Todoroki-san after we confirm that it's safe to do so."
"I see."
"You don't have to agree, Todoroki-san. But your help would be appreciated. I'm certain the girl would appreciate it too."
Aizawa and Todoroki remain silent, the latter lost in thought, deliberating his decision carefully.
Aizawa patiently waits for Todoroki's answer, even though he knows what it will be. Beneath his cold exterior, Todoroki is attentive and eager to help. There is no doubt he will accept. In addition, this experience may be useful for him in the future.
Talking is not my strong suit, Todoroki ponders, and neither is making friends. If this were me at the start of spring, I'd definitely refuse. But after everything I've been through with Midoriya, Iida, and the other 1-A students... I've found that having friends is actually kind of pleasant.
Should I reach out to this girl? Otherwise, she'll be on her own during this, even though Aizawa-sensei will be around. It won't be easy for her. Plus, I might learn a bit about communication and legal process along the way.
A second before Todoroki speaks up, his gaze flicks to Aizawa questioningly. His teacher nods, giving him a silent agreement.
With a firm resolve in his heart, he decides, "I'll help."
"Great. We appreciate your help, Eraser Head and Todoroki-san." the police officer shakes their hands. "We will follow up about the details later."