You shook your head, deciding against a weapon. You had neither the technique, nor the experience with them, and for your High School debut, that just wouldn't do.
Then again, you didn't have any experience fighting in earnest anyway. Turns out when you've been told not to use your quirk in public for the first fourteen years of your life, coming up with a proper way to use it in battle can be difficult. It wasn't that you couldn't have practiced at home...
But touching that training hall with your feet would be paramount to acknowledging Endeavor.
Yuri, to her credit, didn't seem very nervous. She took a stance, though looked slightly uncomfortable in it. You would've asked why the fighting was going on in your uniforms rather than in proper PE ones, but you could already hear Sunbreaker laugh and say that one has to be able to give their all, no matter the circumstances.
What a fucking prick.
You took your own stance. You weren't standing close enough like at judo practice, which meant you had to close the gap quickly. You couldn't remember her quirk, however, you were certain you would come into contact with it soon.
When Sunbreaker raised his hand, both of you bowed to each other. Sunbreaker's voice was drowned out in a world of ice. Within seconds, you had gathered crystals of water on your skin and clothes, freezing them into a thin layer, doing your best to keep your joints unfrozen and taking steps forward.
Then the tips of Yuri's hair turned white. She raised two fingers, then cut the air with them. Snake-like constructs followed her every movement, rushing forward, freezing the ground where they slithered.
Once they reached your power's perimeter, they stopped.
You blinked. Yuri didn't look fazed. The Jagashi's second daughter turned to Sunbreaker, making you hesitate.
"I apologize, Sensei," she said. "But it seems that my quirk is unable to beat Todoroki-san's."
"A good lesson to be learned," Sunbreaker said. "I did not tell you to stop fighting."
The wind-born snakes couldn't get close to you. The ice on the ground wasn't going to stop you from approaching. When Yuri turned around again and nodded at you, you were already making your stride forward. Walking in the ice armor should've been harder, but in your quirk, you weren't weighted down unless you wanted to be - the ice almost hovered in place to let you keep moving easily. Yuri walked forward as well, her hair having gone back to its normal black. Once you were in range of each other… she drew a knife from behind her. You hesitated, the hilt had the Shiketsu insignia, meaning it was one of the blunt knives. Didn't mean you wanted to be hit by it. The tip smashed into the rime. Your hand grabbed Yuri's wrist before she could pull back.
When you moved to throw her over your shoulder, the girl had another knife at the ready, stabbing into the small open space you'd left for your neck to move around. You weren't too proud to scream. It was rather painful, after all. Nobody could fault you for pulling just a bit too hard on Yuri's arm, slamming the girl into the ground with such a force that you could hear something snap.
"I've seen enough," Sunbreaker said. "I'm calling this one. Jagashi Yuri, ideal misdirection, if the knife was sharp, you might have won, but under these circumstances you should've aimed for the eye."
You narrowed your eyes at him. A layer of ice over them could make seeing things hard, so you avoided putting too much armor over your face. Sunbreaker came forward, raising his hands to her wrist. A soft warmth melted the ice that had set itself on her after your grab.
Yuri didn't try to stand up, and despite the wounds you'd caused her, schooled her expression into a face that knew no pain.
"Now, you, Todoroki Rin," Sunbreaker said. "You were going easy on her, I don't approve. The only reason you managed to end this fight so quickly was surprise due to pain. I want this to be a lesson—if I say 'don't hold back', I mean 'don't hold back'."
One of the teachers stepped forward. He held his hands up and Yuri started to float in place.
"Regardless," Sunbreaker continued. "Congratulations. Fight on, hero. I expect to see more. Get yourself to the nurse, Takeda here will show you the way."
You nodded, your eyes moving towards Yuri as you left the hall with the teacher. She met your gaze, but said nothing. Was she angry? Sad? Still too much in pain to actually talk? You didn't know. Once you'd arrived at the nurse's office, and Yuri was deposited on a bed, you were instructed to sit down and wait for the nurse.
The teacher, Takeda, just left.
Lots of awkward energy in the air.
"Jagashi," you said.
"Todoroki-san," Yuri said, at the same time. You coughed, nodding for her to go ahead. "I apologize, I lied to you earlier."
"Lied?" you asked.
"I understand that your father has gone great lengths to make sure to keep your mother's condition out of the public eye," she said. You sucked hair through your teeth. "But nothing could stop our family from finding out."
"Why'd your family care?"
"Because Todoroki Rei is my mother's younger sister," Yuri said. You frowned. Your mother's maiden name was never something you had any interest in. If you had, maybe you wouldn't have been blindsided like this on the first day of hero school. "I know calling us family would be a rather impertinent of me."
"You're my cousin?" you asked. Endeavor didn't have anything resembling a family, so the idea of having relatives has never crossed your mind until now. But what would that mean for you now? Nothing changed. Because… "I don't really care about that."
Yuri's expression melted. She looked… sad? For the lack of a better word. It was this shift from 'neutral expression that betrayed nothing' to 'kind of droopy eyed neutral expression that betrayed nothing'. You weren't a damn esper, you couldn't read people's minds.
"My family and I," you said, trying to clarify. "We're not really close. A lot has happened. It's hard to look them in the eye after so long."
"My older sister," Yuri said. "Since she was young, my family has been raising her to be the heir. I understand our circumstances are in no way comparable, but I know what it is like to have family who live under one roof and don't speak to each other."
You sighed. This girl was difficult to be angry at. Despite her high-brow way of talking, she had this stupidly earnest personality you could only compare to Inasa.
"I have plans," you said. "I'm going to become class rep and I'll absolutely ace everything in this school until I become the number one hero in Japan. Unless anything you tell me affects this, I don't care. If we're cousins, we're cousins."
It's not like 'family' was a concept you had any positive feelings for.
"Then," Yuri said. "I apologize if this sounds weird, but can I call you sister? We're strangers, yet—-"
"Call me whatever you want," you said. "Consider it an apology for the broken arm."
"Dislocated," she said. "And a broken rib."
"Isn't that serious?"
"I think if it were, Sensei wouldn't have made a show about telling us where we messed up in the fight."
"Fair. Alright, you want anything for the rib, too?"
You were joking, but Yuri's smile would've made it difficult to say no to whatever she might request.
"I'd still like to talk costume designs with you," she said. "We have a hero support department at one of our stores, we could have a designer make something for us and give it to the school's support department for approval."
"Sooo," you said, shrugging. "No plan change?"
Yuri's smile was infectious.
####
Camie has invited you for some proper mentoring tomorrow, after classes are over. She doesn't seem to be the most diligent person, but she is still your senpai. Anyone who has survived Sunbreaker's classes for a year ought to be respected.
But what has she invited you to do?
[] Help you with your homework.
[] Give you a proper tour around the school.
[] Yet another shopping trip with the cool senpai.
[You've Won A Fight]
The way you've won it might make some people think you were violent, but to those with keen eyes, you've shown a great deal of restraint. Sunbreaker has his eye on you, and some of your classmates have respect for your fighting prowess. (The fact that your quirk was a hard counter to hers is conveniently ignored).
You've also won a little sister.
Pick a new Minor Goal:
[ ] Get Sunbreaker to praise you properly.
[ ] Befriend the school nurse.
[ ] Top-score on the next exam.
AN: A vote for the costume (that might change in your time during school) feels a bit hollow here. I don't doubt that most people would pick something Erebeal drew, but if you guys want a vote on that just tell me.
