Chapter 98: Frozen Fury

It was bright and early the next day. Very early. In fact, the sun only rose less than an hour ago.

And it was at the exact time, that Ochaco and Shoto agreed to battle.

The two had gone deep into the forest, not wanting anyone to get hurt in what was obviously going to be a highly destructive battle.

And Shoto was trying to figure out, why exactly Ochaco looked so pissed off at him. "Uraraka is there a problem?"

"Ya darn right there's a problem!" Ochaco said, giving him a harsh glare. "Yonda told me what you said about me!"

"What?" Todoroki looked confused for a moment before he put two and two together. "Wait, Yonda told you something?"

"That's right! She told me all about how you thought I was some weak country girl! And that I should just go back to my poverty-stricken slums!" Ochaco ranted. "How dare you! You arrogant popcical!"

"I didn't-" Shoto tried to defend himself, but Ochaco was having none of it.

"Don't try taking it back now!" Ochaco shouted, getting into a combat stance. "If you're gonna say stuff like that! Then you need to own it! Now get ready! Cause I'm gonna kick your frozen emo butt across this whole forest."

That damn demon child must have lied to her to motivate her. Todoroki realized. Do I really seem like the kind of guy to say things like that?...No. It doesn't matter. Clearly, she's not gonna listen to me. There's no point in wasting my breath.

"Fine believe whatever you want," Todoroki said in his normal, extremely cold tone. He also adopted a battle stance and returned Ochaco's glare. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Ochaco said. "On 3. We start. 1…2…3."

The moment she said 3, Todoroki shot out a crap ton of ice at her, attempting to engulf her in ice right off the bat.

"Full Cowling! 12%!" Ochaco shouted as pink lighting surrounded her body, and she lept to the side, heading into the forest, quickly escaping Todoroki's line of sight with super speed.

12% Last time she could only manage 7. Todoroki thought as Yonda's words came back to him.

But one day, she won't be breaking any limbs. She'll have strength and speed similar to All Might, with the added ability to manipulate gravity.

If you can't beat Ochaco right now, at her most vulnerable state, before she can fully utilize her power, then you'll never be able to beat her at all.

Ocahco Uraraka. Todoroki heard something behind him, and he looked back to see a bunch of trees coming down on him.

He created an ice wall behind him, that cracked as the trees hit it, barely protecting him as some trees bounced off and others made it halfway through his rushed ice wall.

How much stronger do you intend to get? Todorki finished his thought, before he moved around his ice wall, and started pushing himself towards where the trees were being thrown, using his ice.

He maneuvered through the forest, dodging a few more trees, before making his way to where Ochaco was.

Ochaco kicked down a tree, grabbed it, took away its gravity, and threw it at Todoroki in the span of a couple seconds.

Todoroki shot out another wall of ice in front of him, engulfing the tree, and moving towards Ochaco to try and swallow her as well.

Ochaco undid her gravity, jumped forward high into the air, soaring above the ice before she reached the point where Todoroki was, and increased her gravity, sending herself crashing down on top of him at alarming speeds.

Todoroki managed to push himself back with his ice, just barely managing to avoid Ochaco as she crashed into the ground hard, creating a shock wave.

Ochaco returned her gravity to normal, before lunging towards Todoroki, getting so close to hitting him. Her fist was a couple of inches away from his face.

But Todoroki once again managed to react in the nick of time, unleashing another ice wall, that swallowed Ochaco whole. Incasing her body in ice.

Todoroki moved himself to the side and stared down the ice wall. He doubted that would hold her for long, he needed to be ready for whatever came next.

CRACK!

Todoroki heard a cracking sound, before Ochaco burst from the ice, bringing a bunch of ice shards up with her.

Ochaco spun around, touching all the ice around her, reducing its gravity, before doing a spin kick, and sending all those big jagged shards of ice rushing at Todoroki. "Meteor Belt!"

Todoroki put up another ice wall in front of him, blocking the attack, as the ice shards embedded themselves in the ice wall.

She's keeping me on the defensive. Todoroki analyzed, as he could feel the cold creeping up his body. I need to back her into a corner and overwhelm her.

But when Shoto looked past the ice, she was already.

Damn! I only looked away for a second where did she- Shoto's thought was interrupted, by Ochaco's foot planting itself into the back of his head. Slamming him through the ice wall, and sending him flying.

Shoto rolled across the ground, before moving himself upwards, and creating a wall of ice to stop himself from flying back any farther.

Immediately there was a there was a slab of ice flying at him.

He made another wave of ice that engulfed the projectile, before traveling towards Ochaco, and she, predictably, jumped back into the forest to avoid it, vanishing out of her sight once more.

The next time she attacks I need to go all out. Todoroki thought. Pin her down.

Unfortunately for him, her next attack would be similar to her first, in that she continued to catapult things at him, this time, instead of trees, it was massive boulders.

This time, Todoroki had to make a much larger, much thicker wall, as rocks rained down from the sky, slamming into his ice, hard.

As rocks and trees fell from the sky, Shoto found it ironic that he was now the one who was pinned.

If he stayed here, he would have to keep reinforcing his ice wall as more things slammed into it. And if he moved he would be hit by one of the many other things falling out of the sky.

He only had one way out, and it was gonna cost him.

Quickly Shoto moved out of the protection of his ice wall and created the biggest wave of ice he'd made yet, having it zoom towards Ochaco's location, hoping the attack would force Ochaco to dodge, and stop throwing crap at him.

It worked, and the assault ended. Nothing else dropped out of the sky to hit him, and so after taking a second to breathe, he moved out, and immediately shot towards Ochaco's presumed location on his ice.

Shoto could feel the ice traveling up, no, through his body. It was so, so cold. And he, much to his horror, started to shiver.

Damn it! I couldn't even land a hit on her! Shoto cursed. He could feel the throbbing in the back of his head where she hit him and of course the frostbite that would soon set in. All reminders that Shoto was losing this fight.

Sure Ochaco had likely spent a good amount of her energy breaking free of his ice and throwing things at him, but this was still very clearly going in her favor.

If you can't beat Ochaco right now, at her most vulnerable state, before she can fully utilize her power, then you'll never be able to beat her at all.

How would he beat Ochaco at her full power? Even if he won this current battle, that would still mean very little. Considering that he would have barely beat her at not even a quarter of her strength.

This fight has shown him so far, that if she were at a hundred percent power, she would wipe the floor with him. Heck even at half her power she would wipe the floor with him.

Of course, he could still improve. But could he really reach the same level as Ochaco with just his ice?

Shoto shook his head. No. I can beat her! I will beat her! I must beat-

Unfortunately, Shoto was so distracted by his own thoughts, that Ochaco managed to get the drop on him, with a flying dropkick to the back.

The kick sent the two of them flying forward, with Shoto getting knocked onto the ground, his face rubbing and grinding against the dirt, while Ochaco rode his back like a surfboard.

After a few seconds of this, Shoto started to slow down, and Ochaco jumped off his back, letting him slide forward and away from her.

Shoto slid a few yards away from her, before coming to a stop.

With his face in the dirt, Shoto tried to pull himself up. His body was weak, and the cold was agonizing. If he was shivering before, he was shaking now as his arms tried to push him up.

Only for Ochaco to kick him back down, pressing her foot against his back on his left side.

"I can't believe ya still aren't taking this seriously!" Ochaco shouted at him.

"I assure you, I am taking this VERY seriously!" Shoto grunted, trying to keep his typical cold and distant tone, but his frustration and anger leaked in, making him sound far more emotional than normal.

He made ice spread on the ground, to try and ensnare Ochaco, but Ochaco just jumped off him and landed a few yards away from him.

"If you were taking this seriously then you'd use your fire!" Ochaco retorted angrily. "Yonda told me everything! She told me you won't use your fire because you don't take anyone seriously! And even now when you're half frozen and losing you're still not using it! If you'd used your fire when I was on your back, I would have been toast!"

"I don't need to use his power to beat you!" Todoroki growled, completely losing his composure, as he pulled himself to his feet. "I can win! With only my ice!"

Ochaco glared at him venomously. "We'll see about that. Full Cowling! 18%!"

The air shifted, as Ochaco increased her power by five percent. The energy of One for All flowing through her veins. She grits her teeth, as she felt the power taking its toll on her body. But she'd endure. If only to put an arrogant dick in his place.

Shoto sends another wave of ice at her, but this one is much slower, and smaller, as Shoto was struggling to continue fighting.

Ochaco easily dodged it, running around the attack with greater speed than before, and reaching Shoto before he could react.

She got that much faster, from only a 5% increase! Shoto thought before Ochaco decked him in the face, sending him flying into the wall of ice he'd created earlier.

"You know what really pisses me off!" Ochaco said, as she rushed forward, and beat Shoto into the ice.

SMASH!

"Everyone in U.A. is training as hard as they can! Giving it there all every day to try and be the best they can be!"

SMASH!

"And you think you can be better than them but only giving it half your effort!?"

SMASH!

"How dare you insult my friends like that!"

SMASH!

"Even Bakugo isent' that arrogent!"

SMASH!

Shoto finally tried to fight back, send out more ice in front of him that swallowed up Ochaco, but she immediately broke out of it.

And that was the final straw.

I really…just can't beat her. Shoto will finally crumble, as Ochaco's fist came hurtling towards his face.

SMASH!

And then everything went dark.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So I trust you all know why we're here," Izuku said to the other three people in his office.

It was a full day after the events of yesterday's sparring match, and the two involved had spent pretty much the entire day recovering.

Ochaco had a few bandages on her, but Shoto was just covered in bandages and had bruises all over his body. He was also wearing special body temperature regulating casts on the frostbitten part of his body. And of course, his head was mostly covered by bandages for all the blows to the head Ochaco had given him.

Shoto and Ochaco were both sitting across from Izuku, while Yonda was sitting in a chair next to his desk.

Ochaco looked very upset, pouting heavily while crossing her arms.

Shoto on the other hand looked…completely normal. Like he wasn't upset by the events of yesterday at all. At least that's what he looked like at first glance. If you looked closer you'd see his eyes seemed a bit…empty. Like he just wasn't there.

And Yonda had a completely neutral expression. Although who knows what she was actually feeling.

"She tricked me!" Ochaco fumed, sounding more frustrated than angry.

Yonda had revealed the truth to her by now, not wanting her to continue to believe those lies she'd told her past the point when it was necessary.

I am really sorry about that part at least. Yonda told her honestly. I did hate having to lie to you like that, but I knew if I didn't you might not take the battle as seriously, and they might lose. And I couldn't have that, it would completely destroy my plan.

"And what exactly was your plan?" Ochaco asked her, giving her some stink eye.

Izuku sighed. Yonda, please tell them what you told me.

Of course father. Yonda said, before beginning her explanation. It started when I learned something rather interesting about Todoroki. Something he didn't want other people to know. Now normally I wouldn't immediately use this blackmail material, but there was something that had been bothering me about him for the longest time. The fact that he refused to use the other half of his quirk. Not only did he refuse to teach my brother because of this, but he also his hampering himself in a very dangerous way. What if he was in a situation where he needed to use his fire? What if he got himself or someone else killed because of his refusal to go all out? So I exploited the information I gathered and used it to make him reveal the truth. Once I realized the reason for him not using his flames was utterly-

Yonda. Izuku gave her a warning look.

Come now father it is ridiculous! Yonda pouted.

Yes, but don't tell him that. He's been through a lot. Izuku told her. And I think you've hurt him enough don't you think.

Yonda rolled her eyes but didn't protest. Anyway, when I found the reason he didn't use his flames was…not good enough to outweigh the downsides, I tried reasoning with him, but quickly found that that was a pointless endeavor. Todoroki is a very stubborn person, not helped by the…things he's gone through.

Ochaco frowned and looked at Shoto. She wasn't stupid enough to ask what he went through. Clearly, he wanted to keep that secret, but still. She was now very curious, and very concerned.

Words alone would not help him. I need to shatter that false reality of his. That fantasy that he could become number 1, while only using half his power. And that's where you came in. Yonda continued. Really you were the only safe option. I needed someone who could beat Todoroki while he was only using his ice, so that ruled out most of your class, but I also needed someone who had lots of easy to see potential, that way he couldn't fall back on the, I'll just train to get stronger than them, argument. So that ruled out Tokoyami. Lastly, I needed someone who wouldn't accidentally kill him, so that ruled out pretty much all my siblings. I needed your fist to save Todoroki from his own delusions. And it seems to have worked.

Everyone looked at Todoroki.

"She's right." He admitted, his blank expression not changing in the slightest. "I'd been clinging to that oath for so long. Stubbornly refusing to acknowledge reality. But I can't deny it anymore. If I keep only using my ice. I'll never achieve my dream."

Ochaco cringed, as she really regretted going all out on him. Seems like she did as much mental damage as she did physical damage. She'd never seen a man so defeated.

But she also didn't disagree with the notion that he needed to have what delusions he was having broken. She wasn't lying when she said that the notion that Todoroki thought he could become number 1 while only using half his power angered her. Except now she was far less upset about it because she knew the reason for him not going all out wasn't arrogance(although there was still some element of that), but some deeply personal reason.

Right. My hopes are that either he'll shape up and start using his fire, or he'll give up entirely. Yonda shrugged. Either way, it's an improvement on his current state. Far less likely to get himself or someone else killed.

Izuku sighed and had to resist slamming his head on the desk. I'm very glad you're trying to help people dear, but I am VERY upset that your method of helping people is manipulating them, and breaking their spirits.

A broken spirit can only be repaired, and even made better. You know that better than anyone father. Yonda reminded him. But you can't fix someone who's dead.

Yes, you are correct! But that does justify any of this. Izuku tried to explain to her. There are other ways to handle this.

How? Yonda asked, knowing full well what the response would be.

Nothing. Izuku didn't have a response.

Todoroki was not a child in his care. Nor would he be considered a child for much longer. Meaning Izuku had no legal right, to force him into therapy, or force him to do anything that may help him. And while Izuku didn't know Todoroki all too well, he knew he was overly stubborn, and that talking alone wouldn't get him to change.

In truth, Yonda was correct. Todoroki needed to get his ass kicked to see how hampering his oath was. Both to his safety, and his dream.

The problem was, if they waited for that to happen organically, then there was a good chance that Todoroki would just get killed. Or someone he was trying to save would get killed.

Even All Might hasn't had the power to save everyone. Now imagine how fewer people he would have saved if he only used half his power. You don't even have to think that far, All for One would have just killed him.

This was honestly probably the best thing to do for Todoroki, but he just didn't like it.

And that's why Izuku wasn't as mad at Yonda as he probably should be. Because he understood that Yonda had only used such underhanded methods because she thought the situation was important enough to call for them. In her mind, she was saving Todoroki, and who knows how many other people's lives, in a way that couldn't be accomplished by being gentle, or nice. And she wasn't completely wrong.

What made it worse was that Yonda had done something similar recently. Telling him something VERY, VERY important that she'd learned via these manipulative tactics.

It was hard to punish someone for doing a good deed in the most efficient way possible, even if the way she went about it was bad. And it's hard to explain why her methods were bad when he couldn't provide any reliable alternatives. Saying "trust me everything would have worked out" does not work on someone this intelligent and pragmatic.

So it put Izuku in a very, very difficult spot, and it makes him wish he had been harder on her during the Kioku incident, as that is an example of her methods not working out how she planned, and someone getting hurt in the process.

Although Kioku would ultimately benefit from that in the long run, now that they knew what was up with her and could help her better.

Izuku pulled out some calm candy from his desk, silently thanking Amai, as he ate it and felt a wave of relief wash over him.

I mean, I get it, but you can't just do something like that! Ochaco argued giving Yonda a serious look. You hurt me and Shoto a whole lot! Do you understand that?

Of course, I do. Yonda nodded. I understood exactly how much pain I'd be causing when I did this. But you're better off hurt than dead. I know doesn't apply to you Ochaco, you would have been fine either way. But I'm sure you'd be happy getting yourself hurt to save Shoto's life, so I figured I'd give you the chance to do so before it's too late.

I…that…Ochaco tried to form a counter to that. One more concrete than "yes but it's not nice" but was struggling here.

"Todoroki how do you feel about all this?" Izuku asked, concerned for the half-dead-looking boy.

"I…I have no idea how to feel about all this." Shoto answered honestly.

It was now clear to him that he had to make a choice. His oath. Or his dream. The world wouldn't let him have both. If he wanted to become number 1, he had to give everything he had.

And that included his fire.

His quirk was made to use both. His ice would cool down his body if he overused his fire, and his fire would warm him if he overused his ice.

Trying to just use one, would result in more losses like yesterday.

But that would please his father far too much…no. As Yonda pointed out, him achieving his dream at all, would likely please his father.

Shoto could simply not get everything he wanted, regardless of how much he tried.

Midoriya himself was an example of how harmful chasing unrealistic dreams were and the benefits that came with letting them go. So really it was obvious he had to change his goals.

So would he give up the dream he wanted so badly, and had held on to for years, just because it would make his father happy. Or would he could go on, using his flames. And try to ignore the searing hatred he felt every time he imagined his father smiling on the sidelines.

But what would his father do if he just gave up? Well, he'd likely try his hardest to convince Shoto otherwise but if that failed…what then?

His father was not the kind of person to give up.

Perhaps he'd find some other woman, and try again.

Suddenly his blood ran cold, and he felt nauseous. The mear thought of his father starting over again with some other woman, creating who knows how many more children, and subjecting them all to the same things he'd subjected them to.

Was that what would have happened if he went on trying to only use his ice? Would he had been deemed a failure like his siblings, and would his father try again?

If that was the case then he should be grateful to her for at least preventing him from that fate.

Speaking Yonda, he was of two minds about what she did.

On one hand, no one asked her to help him. He certainly didn't want her help, and she had no right to manipulate him and dig into his personal life like this.

But on the other hand, she possibly just saved him from a horrible fate thanks to his own delusions, or at the very least saved him from looking like an idiot for the rest of his life.

So there was that.

He still didn't like her, at all. She was a smug little brat who was smart enough to get whatever she wanted. Heck, her whole plan went off without a hitch. Even getting caught by Izuku and punished, was part of her plan, and that infuriated him.

But at the same time, it was hard to reasonably hate someone who looks out for your own well-being without benefiting from it at all. In Yonda actually stood to lose from trying to help him. She pissed off Ochaco, made Izuku upset, and now she going to be punished, and she just accepted that for the sake of trying to help him.

It was all just so very confusing. He'd have to take a long time to think about everything.

"Alright. Todoroki, as an apology for what happened, I'm giving you time off, and freeing you from laundry duty." Izuku told him. "Ochaco, I am terribly sorry you got caught up in my daughter's scheme, you can have some time off too. Yonda, you're grounded for half a week. No video games, internet, desert, or trips the city."

"Isn't half a week a bit too lenient?" Ochaco asked. "I'd say at least a full weak considering what she did."

"I'm being a bit easy on her light of…well let's just say, she discovered something very, very important, and may have saved all our lives," Izuku explained.

"What!?" Ochaco's eyes widened in shock at the revelation Izuku just dropped. Even Shoto was surprised.

"I can't tell you what she found out, all I can say is, if she didn't find that out, your entire class would be in danger," Izuku said very seriously. "It was that important."

"Well…I guess saving all our lives is grounds for reduced punishment?" Ochaco said, sounding very unsure of herself.

"I'm glad we agree." Izuku sighed. In all honesty, he was about as sure about this as Ochaco was, but if save everyone's lives then you should probably get rewarded, and Yonda had refused any rewards that Izuku offered her.

Of course what Izuku didn't know, is that the reason Yonda did that was because she already had this planned, and refused the rewards so Izuku have lingering feelings of gratitude when he was deciding her punishment now.

I'll gladly take punishment for my actions. But I'm also very glad you can understand my intent. Yonda told them, standing up, and giving them all a big smile, and a curtsy. Ochaco could please take me to my room so I may begin my punishment? I believe father has things he wishes to discuss with Todoroki.

Ochaco looked at Izuku to confirm, and Izuku nodded. "Alright, let's go."

And with that, Ochaco took Yonda out of the room, leaving Izuku and Todoroki alone.

After a few moments of silence, Todoroki spoke up. "Can I have some of that clam candy, I think I'm gonna need it for this conversation."

"Sure." Izuku handed him one of his candy bars.

As Shoto took a bite of the candy, he felt some of the weight come off his shoulders. It didn't make him completely calm, there was nothing that could do that right now. But it definitely helped.

Maybe he should ask for more of these.

"So, I'm assuming you know where this is going," Izuku said, giving him a sad look.

Of course, Shoto knew where this was going.

After all, he lost the fight. Therefore, Yonda must have told Izuku about his father. Then again, he wouldn't have been surprised if Yonda would have told him even he won.

"You shouldn't get involved," Shoto told him. "No one will believe you if you try to expose him. And you'll only end up hurting yourself."

"That may be the case for most people, but I have money, connections, and resources. I'm sure I can manage something. But…" Izuku gave him a pained look. "I can't do anything, right now."

Shoto's eyes widened a bit. Not expecting that response from someone like Izuku.

"I can't afford to antagonize the number 2 hero, while some unforeseen powerful enemy is trying to kill me," Izuku explained, looking very upset at not being able to take care of the issue right now. "Not to mention I also have a dangerous situation going on involving America, and I have to finish establishing the facility in full working order, so that way the whole thing doesn't collapse if something happens to me. If I take on something like this now, that would be extremely reckless, and my family would suffer for it. But don't get me wrong, once I get all that sorted out, I WILL be going for Endeavor. I'm not going to allow someone to do all that, and still be revered as a hero."

Shoto looked at Izuku. He saw the iron-clad resolve in his eyes. He wouldn't be deterred. Or at least Shoto had no idea how to deter him.

"Well if you're going to interfere with my life, then I feel like I'm allowed to ask this," Shoto said. "What did Yonda tell you that was so important?"

Izuku shook his head. "You don't understand. This is on a need-to-know basis. I was told by Nezu himself, not to tell anyone unless I absolutely have to."

"It's really that important?" Shoto asked.

"Definitely," Izuku said, looking as serious as possible. "If this information gets into the wrong hands, it's very, very likely, that people will die."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A few days ago, Aoyama was going back to his room, after finishing up with the dishes.

He opened the door and was shocked to find Yonda. Sitting down on a table in the center of his room with two chairs, one she was sitting in, and one that was empty.

On the table, there were some cheese, and cookies that looked like they had candies inside them.

Hello Aoyama! Yonda greeted him cheerfully, with a bright smile on her face.

A-ah! Hello madam Yonda. Aoyama greeted her nervously.

During his stay here, he'd been very, very wary of this girl in particular for obvious reasons.

He'd tried his best to avoid her, and when he was around her, he tried to make sure he didn't think of anything suspicious.

Um, what exactly are you doing in my room? Aoyama asked, trying not to show how nervous he was, or think anything sus. It's rude to invade, one's room like this.

My apologies, I just wanted to give you some cookies I made! Yonda said, raising a cookie up towards Aoyama, before giving him a teary-eyed look. You will eat them. Won't you? I worked really hard to make them.

O-Of course! Aoyama agreed, stepping into his room towards the table, and taking one of the cookies.

The moment he bit into the cookie, his fate was sealed.

Hmmm. This is quite good. Aoyama thought, feeling his nervousness melt away, and be replaced by a sense of serene joy.

This was because the cookies were in fact, filled with Amai's candies. Specifically, her calming and happiness candy, both of them at very high potency.

You see while Aoyama did his best to avoid suspension, that only made Yonda more determined to find out about him. And she picked up some snippets of information that she thought warranted a full investigation.

You should sit down and enjoy them. Have some tea as well. Yonda offered, as she took out her phone, and started playing some calming classical music. We haven't gotten much chance to talk, have we?

No. I suppose we have not. Aoyama said, taking a bite out of the cookie once more, before taking his seat, completely forgetting why he was so worried before as the cookie completely disarmed him.

Well, then this would be a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other. Yonda gave him a sickeningly sweet smile, as he fell right into her trap.