Chapter 8
Fire only destroys
I remembered it as if it happened yesterday, it was a quiet day without much to do for a 6 year old like me.
Natsuo was playing with me that day, Fuyumi was still not home from school and I don't remember where he was... Toya...
But it was a good day, my father hadn't 'trained' me yesterday and he wasn't at home today either, so I figured he wouldn't 'train' me that day either.
And I was right, after that day he never trained me again, but something else happened.
Years later I understood that my father's obsession to surpass All Might passed from my brother Toya to me when I was born. And that obsession passed from me to her...
"You need not be a hero, even if you use my fire to its fullest power you will never be like her"The indifference that my brother suffered before he died now passed to all of us, to the point that my beloved mother went mad.
I remember as if it was yesterday that day, the day my father brought Itsuka Kotori home.
Despite the efforts of my other two siblings and my own mother I could never appreciate her. I could never stop hating her.
"CAMAEL" I remember the heat of her flames on my face, leaving me with a scar that would never leave my being or my soul.
A demon. It was the most appropriate description for that girl, many around me called her prodigy, but I knew better what she kept inside her.
Fortunately for me she did not live with us, the nascent Itsuka house needed her, but that day I learned the truth.
"You don't need to be a hero, even if you use my fire to its fullest power you will never be like her" You can rest assured father, as long as I live I will never use your fire.
The most romantic people loved to describe fire as life, as something that was only good for humans. They lie
Fire only destroys, sooner or later...
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"Team I can access the building and prepare a defense, Team B is going to wait 5 minutes before they can enter!" All Might said over the communicator as the 4 students went to the building area to fight,
Mezo Shoji was wearing a simple outfit that resembled something that would be used for training in the gym, and Shoto Todoroki was wearing a white shirt, white pants and white boots.
But the pair of villain girls were wearing something a little more... fancy.
Tobiichi Origami wore something that resembled a wedding dress, a bit more daring so to speak, as the skirt was very short, showing her legs with long white stockings completely, her shoulders were bare and she had a very daring neckline.
Itsuka Kotori on the other hand wore a red and white kimono with some pink touches here and there, some ballerina shoes with some curious ornaments on her ankles, the strangest thing she wore was the elephant horns on her head, tied to her hair with black ribbons.
And unlike Origami, Todoroki or Shoji who were unarmed, Kotori carried with her a strange cane.
"YOU MAY START" All Might shouted again when the 5 minutes had already started.
"One of them is north by the fourth floor" "The other one of them is sitting on what appears to be the target" Shoji's extra arms deformed and acted as an analysis weapon.
"This is going to get heavy, I recommend you stay outside while I go in" Todoroki said.
The boy put a hand on the building and everything began to freeze until the large building looked like a giant ice cube "This is not much for me".
"Hehe, so you want to play like this huh?" On the girls' side Origami had frozen feet but golden feathers stuck the ground and broke the ice.
The redhead took a more direct view "Let's start then! Do it now...Camael!" She put her hand on the floor and steam started to come out first from the whole room, then from the whole building and after 30 seconds all the ice was evaporated.
Todoroki had already entered, and on his left side of his body he covered with ice from his head to his feet, like a suit of armor. Shoji saw how the ice evaporated and ran into the building.
"You seem to be better against Todoroki-san, I'll go for the other one" And having said that sharply Origami left.
"Kuh" She didn't even let her answer "Alright, our war has begun! ( Date )"
Even though she said that Kotori didn't move, listening as the footsteps came closer and closer to the room she was in.
"It's been a while, hasn't it Shoto? How is Fuyumi-san? I want to visit her soon" Her tone didn't seem provocative, in fact she was quite sincere with the half-half boy.
But he clearly didn't like those words and covered his fist with ice before rushing over to the red-haired girl.
"Woah!" but she easily dodged him "Easy Shoto! No need to fight like that" She said that but the boy kept attacking with ferocity.
"Camael..." Kotori spoke softly and placed her right hand on top of the strange staff she brought, and as she did so a sheet of flame covered the top half of it, resembling a small axe
"Tch" Todoroki did something similar but made a weapon of pure ice, it resembled a long sword.
Todoroki took an awkward stance waiting for Kotori to strike the first blow....
He did not wait long because with great skill the redhead approached with his axe and cut in half the ice sword that Todoroki had, although the cut part was replaced again.
"Tch" But Kotori did not stop there and with every swing she made the ice sword was cut again and again leaving no room for the counter attack.
One could think that Todoroki was about to receive a beating, his breathing was heavier and he seemed to be shivering from the cold.
But the water and steam that was produced every time Kotori cut the ice sword was extinguishing the flame that shaped the blade of his axe.
Of course this was not something she did not know, so she stopped and stepped back, Todoroki took this moment to get rid of the ice armor that covered the left half of her body.
"Heh, you're starting to shake" Kotori said and relaxed her combat stance "You're close to your limit and you still haven't forced me to use Camael anymore. Are you that simple to fight?"
*Boom*
The building shook and you could hear various debris being destroyed on the lower floors of the building.
"He was that strong? Hm, he never seemed so to me."
"Don't...ignore...me..." Her left hand seemed numb, accompanying the signs of cold she was feeling her leg seemed unable to move.
"You're going to freeze to death at this rate Shoto, you must use it and you know it."
It didn't look like it from the smirk he had but Kotori was a little worried about him, Todoroki didn't say anything about it but covered his left fist with ice and clumsily lunged at the redhead.
"Camael!" Kotori dodged the blow but grabbed his frozen hand and with his fire melted the ice on it "You can't beat me and you know it!"
*Boom*
"Kuh" Explosions continued to sound in the lower floors of the building and Todoroki forcibly separated from the redhead. He would never admit it but his body temperature rose a little, which helped him to keep fighting.
Kotori did not reshape the blade of his axe, as if curiously waiting for whatever the half-half boy would do.
"Oh?" Todoroki said nothing but started throwing ice icicles with his arm, they weren't going hard enough to pierce a human's flesh but Kotori knew it would hurt if that hit "Nice try.... Camael..."
But the attack didn't last long as a wall of fire rose in front of Kotori and not even water reached the redhead, when Todoroki stopped throwing the icicles she just extinguished the fire with the staff that was once her axe.
"If you want it to be like this then fine! Camael!" As in Aizawa's test, Kotori shot charged fire from her finger, Todoroki's eyes widened in surprise but she dodged the shot in time "Camael!" But another shot came.
"Miss Itsuka, calm down!" All Might spoke over the communicator."
*BOOM*
A beam of light shot through from the ground to the sky, from the hole Origami could be seen levitating in the air.
"Hmp, looks like we are about to win" There was no sign of Shoji what had happened seemed to be the sign of what happened in that fight "You never even tried to touch the target, did you really try to reach?"
Todoroki touched the ground again with the intention of freezing the ground, but obviously Kotori was not going to allow it.
"Camael!" Under his feet flames covered the floor of the entire room to prevent it from freezing. "What?" But when the flames went out he saw Todoroki with his frozen fist and felt the coldness of the ice before he felt the blow. "Gah!" That blow knocked Kotori and her cane away from her.
"Now I just have to..." The boy was fully intending to touch the dummy bomb and end the exercise, but he felt the temperature of the room rise "What's wrong?"
"Well... Now that was an attack!" She was still lying on the floor but her voice was happy "HAHAHA Come to me again Camael!!!" As a blast of fire propelled Kotori up.
Fast footsteps were heard but both Kotori and Todoroki didn't care, they didn't pay attention when All Might told them that Shoji was caught.
"Let's see if you're ready to receive this!" Although it still sounded like her Kotori was surprisingly excited all of a sudden, like never before in combat.
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Moments before all that happened, when Kotori had just thawed the whole building for the first time, Origami walked through the corridors of the building in search of Todoroki's companion who was entering.
And at the top of the stairs of the second floor she saw him, tall and muscular was Mezo Shoji, even without his strange 6 arms he was strong enough to fight against any human.
But Origami was not just any human.
"Are you going to give up? I'd rather avoid hurting a fellow human so early in the year" Without a trace of pride or mockery, it was a sincere request.
"I don't think a villain should be so compassionate you know?" laughed Shoji lightly but still got into a combat stance.
Origami seeing this sighed heavily "All Might-sensei asked me to keep a close eye on Itsuka, I have to hurry back..."
"Eh? Why would he ask you something like that?" Shoji as well as the other students in the surveillance room wondered the same thing.
But the white-haired girl shook her head "Later" She touched her feather crown and the feathers parted "I'll finish quickly... Activate Metatron..." And after saying that, the feathers grew bigger until they resembled small cannons.
Those who did not know thought that the 'Quirk' that Tobiichi Origami had was to control feathers, others thought it was to store light and expel it, but they were wrong.
"Levitation..." 2 of the boy's 'arms' deformed to look like a pair of extra ears.
It was a secret kept by her own request, even in Yuuei's official records her 'Quirk' did not mention levitation.
"Shemesh..." Sharply the cannons around her began to charge before firing.
*Boom*
Shattering walls with their beams Metatron's cannons harassed Shoji who could only escape as he was unable to get close to her.
Kotori was awarded throughout her childhood and early adolescence as the future best heroine in the world, the strongest.
People like Todoroki or Bakugo would receive similar treatment as born fighters.
*Boom*
People like Yaoyoruzu who were given scholarships thanks to their incredible intelligence by megacorporations like D.E.M. Industries even having close relations with Isaac Westcott.
But Origami was different from all of them. Even for D.E.M which was full of geniuses who created the realizer device the existence of 'Metatron' as a concept was something very advanced.
"Kadour" When Shoji approached her their cannons concentrated together and fired a more powerful beam, he moved away in time but the beam of light went through to the floor where Kotori and Todoroki were still fighting.
Tobiichi Origami was the greatest technological genius of this era, even if she didn't accept that fact.
"It's over..." A cannon pointed at the boy and he raised his arms in surrender.
"Young boy Mezo Shoji has just been captured!" When Origami heard that her cannons shrank back to form the golden crown of feathers.
Origami stopped floating and went running towards the living room, she quickened her pace even more when she felt the heat emanating from the room.
"Itsuka stop!" But it was too late when she arrived, the smile on Kotori's face was very strange and she grabbed her staff from the floor.
"Camael...." The fire emanating from it concentrated inside the cane and when it finished charging Kotori pointed it towards Todoroki "Meggido".
A blast of condensed fire was aimed at Todoroki who managed to escape just in time but went through the building and destroyed some others in the distance.
"Metatron" Origami became serious and touching his crown the feathers turned back into cannons "Artel..." But she never got to say the command.
"STOP" With a great gust of wind All Might entered the building and stood between Kotori and Origami to appease the combat "Miss Itsuka! I order you to stop using your Quirk this instant" At those words Kotori opened her eyes and showed a worried expression.
"I... I'm sorry!" She threw down her cane as if she was scared of it and fell to her knees on the floor, looking like she was about to cry.
"Miss Itsuka, you can rest assured that besides a couple of fake buildings you didn't do any damage!" All Might flashed his signature smile but Kotori was still looking at the ground sadly.
"It's all my fault..."
"Students! You may return to your classroom, today's class is cancelled" He approached the red-haired girl and carried her like a little girl "Young Todoroki, go to the infirmary to have any injuries checked. Miss Origami, take your partner and go back to the classroom together."
Origami nodded and left the room, Todoroki however could only hit the floor and shout angrily.
"Aaah" He felt tears of frustration on his face but quickly wiped them away "Damn..."
For many romantics fire could be life, something essential for society to advance and they would be right to a certain extent.
But for Shoto Todoroki since he had the misfortune of meeting Itsuka Kotori fire was only ruin and destruction.
Something that sooner or later would simply...consume everything he loves.
THANKS FOR READING, ANY COMMENT, RECOMMENDATION OR CRITICISM IS WELCOME AS LONG AS IT IS WITH RESPECT.
Well, this was my first time writing a chapter that "only" has combat, if you have suggestions on how to improve my battles are welcome.