Requested by: RSE_ME

Prompt: Self given

Warnings: None

Extra: Have I ever mentioned how much I love Todoroki? Because I love Todoroki.

~*~

Being the daughter of the #1 hero didn't mean I held a great desire to be the one to carry on his legacy.

The media loved to speculate. The day my parents announced I was born, the media had a field day speculating my potential quirk and hero aptitude. The day my mother died in battle, the world mourned with us.

After that, I felt a lot of pressure, even as a small child. That pressure increased when I discovered my 'weal mental type quirk'. My body was ready to be crushed under the weight until my dad- freshly wounded and losing natural muscle mass- had a talk with me.

"I understand your anxieties when it comes to my legacy. I want you to go on and do what you want to do. It benefits no one if your heart isn't in it."

Those words stayed with me until the summer before high school, when I met IzukuMidoriya. My father's not-by-blood-but-basically son. He was taking on the mantle, so I didn't have to. Not only that, but he was more than willing to continue All Might's legacy.

"If you're All Might's daughter, why didn't he pass his quirk onto you?" Izuku asked one morning while we were jogging together. My father wanted me to "Stay fit and watch young Midoriya".

"I don't want to. The hero life isn't for me. Okay, okay I need a break," we stopped, and I struggled to catch my breath, "I'm doubling. I'm doing general studies at UA and working under Recovery Girl. I want to go into psychology and she minored in that when she was in college."

Izuku jumped excitedly at my statement, "Your Quirk would be perfect for psychology! The ability to observe memories would come in handy while planning out sessions and getting information from your patients. It does lean away from a hero standpoint so I can see why-"

I smacked his head to pull him out of his mumbling, "I get it. Now let's keep going. Only a mile more and we can get some food."

~*~

Shouto Todoroki showed up in the clinic after the sports festival. Bakugou knocked him out cold with his final blast. Recovery Girl healed his largest wounds, and I was allowed to handle his smaller ones. One of the perks of my dad's influence and working with Recovery Girl meant permission to skip the festival.

"You did good out there," I told his unconscious form, placing a new heating pad on his right side to combat the frostbite threatening to set in, "Why did you use your left side against Izuku and not Bakugou?"

I got my answer when my fingers brushed his arm. Gasping I was pulled into his memories. Too many to describe. Each one worse that the last. When his mom picked up the kettle, I snapped out of the visions, tipping backwards in my chair and landing on the floor.

"Ow," I groaned.

"Are you alright?" Smoother than on TV. That was the only way I could describe Todoroki's voice.

Pushing myself off the floor I chuckled nervously, "I should be asking you that. You took a beating out there."

"I feel much better," Todoroki shrugged.

Pulling out another heat pack, I held it out, "Recovery Girl wanted you to stay until awards."

Todoroki laid the pack on his shoulder, staying silent. Fiddling with some of my equipment, I sucked in a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," I muttered nervously, struggling to meet his intense gaze, "For everything that happened to you. Now and when you were younger."

Todoroki's brows furrowed in confusion, "What?"

"Oh! Right. Um, I can see a person's memories when I touch them. I'm not amazing at controlling it and when I was treating you earlier, I saw everything. Sorry..."

"You saw everything?"

I nodded frantically, "Yeah. Um, I'm supposed to be focusing on psychology while I'm here. While you were out there, you were struggling with your left side. Do you want to talk about it?"

Todoroki observed me, and I assumed he would reject my offer, "Sure."

After the sports festival, I gave Todoroki my number, and we stayed in touch. Visiting my dad during free periods - and secretly going to see Todoroki. Internships came after the festival. They were so overwhelming that Todoroki and I met in person outside of school just before they began. It was strange seeing him so casual- to the point that it felt like a date.

When everything with Stain came out, I was frantic. It wasn't until I got a text from Todoroki that my worried panic turned into an anxious panic.

Would you like to meet for a discussion date tomorrow?

Without hesitation I agreed. The hours afterwards were spent panicking. He said 'date' and I said 'yes'. Simple, but terrifying.

~*~

The date went better than I could have hoped. Todoroki revealed the truth about the Stain situation. I listened, processed, and advised. After that, we went on two more dates. Those weren't therapy sessions. They were just that, dates.

Which led me to the Todoroki's doorstep. Both of us were willing to study together despite our differing final exams. We didn't have a physical portion either- thank God.

"(Y/n)?" Shouto's older sister opened the door, smiling brightly and excitedly, "Come on in. Shouto's in his room."

Shoes discarded by the door, I followed her through the traditional Japanese home to Shouto's door. Fuyumi- who'd been chattering the entire way- knocked rapidly.

"Shouto, your friend is here," she sang, sending me a wink.

Shouto's door slid open, revealing his civvies, "Thank you Fuyumi."

WIth a grin, Fuyumi left us alone. I followed him to a cushioned area set up specifically for studying. Settling, I pulled out the various textbooks that had been weighing down my bag.

"So our math, English, and general law exam sections will overlap so we can go over those first," I offered, freezing when Shouto sat next to me. I was still getting used to being so close to him. Shouto, reserved Shouto who had to battle Izuku to become his friend.

"We can start with math," Shouto opened his own book, sure enough, they were the same.

Leaning back and attempting to relax, I read out the first equation. With pens and pads of paper we worked through the difficult equation and checked our work against each other and the answer key. He read the next one, and I held back the urge to melt into the comfortable pillows. His voice always had that effect on me. If I didn't know his quirk I would have assumed it was relaxing the body's muscles by using his voice.

"What do you think we should start with?"

I snapped out of my dream-like state, facing Todoroki's innocent stare, "Huh?"

"I asked what you think we should start with... For the equation."

"Oh," rubbing my neck I giggled in embarrassment, "I wasn't listening. Sorry, what was the question?"

Brow raising in interest, Shouto leaned forward, so close I could feel his breath spreading across my cheek, "Why are you so distracted?"

"Because of you," I flushed, lowering my gaze.

Todoroki's face grew even closer. Resisting the instinctual urge to back away, I instead leaned forward. Todoroki's left hand landed on my knee, showing no intention of travelling farther and past my comfort zone. His right hand cupped my cheek, tilting my head to just the right angle. The hot and cold did nothing compared to the buzz in my veins. He lips were close, nearing and nearing until-

"Shouto I thought I told you to train when-"

Shouto and I jerked apart, facing his father. Before I had ever met or known anything about him, there was already a faint disdain for him. His constant belittling and drive to surpass my father for the wrong reasons irked me. After seeing Shouto's memories... I hated him even more.

The man observed our current situation, flame beard roaring as his anger levels rose. Shouto stood passively, holding his hand out to help me up. Subtly, he stepped in front of me, shielding me from whatever his father felt like doing.

"What do you think you're doing, Shouto?" Endeavor finally grit out, glaring holes into my forehead. I shrunk back, he was intimidating.

"Spending time with (Y/n)."

Endeavor growled at the informality between us, though he already should have been able to guess how close we were based on what he walked in on. Taking a lumbering step towards us, his eyes narrowed on me.

"All Might's daughter... Tell me, are the rumors about your weak quirk true?"

"Father," Shouto snapped, scowling and reaching out for my hand. I squeezed it, sending him a small nod. Wordless, but obvious that I was saying it was an okay question. I got it more than once. One of the times that stood out was from Shinsou, who became a close friend after.

"I don't think my quirk is necessarily weak, but it's not meant for hero work. I can see people's memories when I touch them. Like how I saw Shouto's after the sports festival," summoning all of my courage, I mustered a glare- letting the man know I knew everything.

"Shouto, you should be with someone who will give you powerful children, whether they gain a combination of quirks or only one. All Might's daughter mine as well be quirkless. She's no use to you."

My gut-clenched at his harsh words. I had accepted long ago that society wouldn't accept the fact that I wasn't as powerful as my father very well, but hearing it from the father of the boy I had feelings for was...

"Her quirk doesn't matter to me. I didn't ask her to go out with me because of that. I did so because she's a wonderful person. Who I choose to date is not your concern, so move along."

Endeavor seemed even angrier at Shouto's rebuttal- if that was even possible, he seemed to be on the edge of a freakout 24/7. Shouto's refusal to follow his wishes may have tipped him over the edge.

"You'll never carry on the legacy of number one hero if-"

"It's not your choice who carries on that legacy," Shouto frowned deeply, stepping up to his father instead of backing down, "All Might is the number one hero now. I don't know if I'll be number one when I'm a professional, but I'm not going to shove the burden down my future children's throats like you have with me."

Endeavor's eyes flicked back to me. Shouto glanced at me, the corners of his lips quirking upwards. He was encouraging me to stand my ground. And I wasn't going to disappoint. I lifted my chin and met Endeavor's -ironically- icy gaze. The pro-hero let out a mix between a scoff and a growl.

"I don't like All Might and I don't like you either. You aren't a good match for my son, and nothing will change my mind about it."

With that, he spun on his heel and stormed out, loud stomping slowly fading the further away he got. I nearly fell into Shouto's arms, sighing in relief. I made it out without a major confrontation, though it wasn't positive either.

"I apologize for my father's behavior," Shouto held me steady, keeping his voice steady in an attempt to calm me, "You shouldn't have had to experience that... unpleasantness."

"It's okay," I assured him, letting out a shaky breath, "I knew what to expect when it came to your father."

"Yes. I'm sorry about that as well," Shouto sighed, "Let's get back to studying and put that behind us."

I nodded eagerly, "That would be amazing. We still have a few subjects to get through."

After settling down once again, I looked up from my complicated math equation and shifted to face Shouto head on.

"Your father will never approve of me will he? Not that it matters to me, but-"

"He won't. He wouldn't accept anyone other than a potential top ten hero. Don't worry, his opinion doesn't matter."

I chuckled, tapping my pen against my paper, "Yeah, because he's burning trash."

Todoroki snickered at the statement, surprisingly willing to voice his agreement, "He is burning trash. Smart analogy."