#as she tries desperately to feel for Lin’s heartbeat only to find nothing but cooling metal armor echoing back to her | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ferallymine · 3 years

Text

Worldbreaker Part 2

A/n: Hi i exist sometimes.

----------------------------------------

“You burned?” Shoto caressed Mardea’s back gently. He wasn’t one for great amounts of physical affection unless she instigated it.

Her left arm stretched out, “You can’t see it now, but there were black burned scars all up and down my arms. It was so painful to move. Healing it was even worse- which was why my body ached and skin was so tender.”

“And the easy bruise,” Shoto’s fingers ghosted her collarbone, the black and blue visible from her tank top pajamas- still fresh from hours before. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there…”

“We couldn’t have known,” Mardea slouched forward, face resting in the crook of his neck. “Honey I’m so scared and tired…” Tears escaped and landed on his cotton t-shirt.

He froze, not knowing where to put his hands. Does he hug her? Rub her back? Sometimes she likes head pets… Shoto settled on a hug, careful to his placement of his arms to not startle her.

“Don’t let go.” A whisper of longing. He knows that she knows his limits with physical affection. He can stop and she’ll understand. But what would that make him- just like his father? He shouldn’t abandon his love when she gets scared, which wasn’t often, if ever.

“I won’t.” Resolve to be here, in this moment, just doing his best to comfort her.

A cool draft whisked through his room. Shoto pulled one blanket from the end of the bed up to cover their legs and feet. Another one was behind Mardea’s head. Slowly reaching over, he was able to drape it over her shoulders.

“Thank you,” She pulled him closer, entirely eliminating the space between them. The thought that she held him this way for fear of either of them disappearing tugged his heartstrings.

-----

Hello, pumpkin.

A knee-jerk reaction, Mardea teleported from Shoto’s sleeping embrace to near the closet door. She landed with a thud on the floor. That’ll definitely bruise.

Aw, how cute.

Mardea’s ears couldn’t hear anything in the room besides her own thundering heartbeat. Where was the source of this voice? Was she here? If anything happened to Shoto then nothing in this world would protect that stranger from Mardea’s red fury.

I’m outside. Come walk with me.

“Fucking hell,” Mardea whispered, standing up as quietly as she could. Was it risky doing what this woman said and not telling anyone? Yes. Was it equally as risky to not obey? Yes, and it put the others in danger.

Mardea threw on a sweatshirt and pants then slipped out the window, landing on the fresh earth. It was cold against her bare feet. The night air was still, as if afraid of what lurked within itself.

Leaves crunched around the back corner of the dorm. A bolt was in her hands, illuminating the area as Mardea jumped out ready to attack. But nothing was there.

“Pumpkin, don’t be so reckless.” The change to lilac was instantaneous as the woman appeared behind her. “Still a bit afraid, aren’t you?”

Mardea stayed silent; the bolt desummoned from her hand as the woman walked around to face her.

Her hair obstructed most of her face, “You’ve got much to learn if you want to control energy instead of it controlling you. Like your lilac right now.”

“You need to leave me and my loved ones alone.” Crimson strands.

“Ah, little one, you’re so closed minded.” The woman let out a little laugh, “You think this is a villainous endeavor?” She placed a gloved hand on the coarse brick. “This is purely about you bettering yourself. And unlike the fools in there who are trying desperately to train you with no idea how, I know exactly what you need and how to strengthen you.”

“…how do you know?”

An unsettling grin, “I am so glad you asked.”

Her gloved hand quickly swiped over the brick. Where her hand had been was replaced with brown energy. With a snap of her fingers, the energy turned into a view of the dorm rooftop.

Mardea just stared, “…wha-” A shove and she went through.

“That, little one,” Mardea turned to see the woman walk through and snap again, closing the brown energy circle, “…is one of many things I can teach you. My name is Vera, and I was the first person with an energy manipulation quirk.”

Her brows furrowed in a vain attempt to understand the situation, “If you were the first, I’d have heard about you in classes, right?”

Laughter. The woman, Vera, slightly bent at the waist, wiping a tear from her eyes hiding behind her hair. “You have too much faith in your education, little one. People like us don’t fit the narrative, so they write and write and educate and brainwash until we simply no longer exist. Your teachers didn’t even know energy quirks existed until you showed up, didn’t they? Have you gotten any education, training, or even advice about how to control your quirk?”

“I… uh…”

“No, they push you to the side and tell you to figure it out.” Vera straightened and walked to the front edge of the building. “You have no one too look up to for help. When you get positive results, you’re praised, but when you struggle, they put you in a ‘meditation room’ so they don’t have to tell you how to get better.”

“Izzy has All Might…..guess Bakugo has him too… Shoto has Endeavour, technically speaking…”

Vera turned suddenly, holding her arms out wide, “And you, Miss Lin, could have me as your mentor, if you wish.”

Was this Mardea’s future if she didn’t accept? Her work and efforts all made on her own- no real guidance to set her straight. Full potential never achieved due to her own ignorance, or willful neglect of an offer right here on this cold dreary rooftop.

Sure, Aizawa tried his best and knew how to calm her down- but he wasn’t always there. She couldn’t count on him in a battle if things got rough with her energy. Midnight didn’t exactly offer great teachings either, instead focusing on Mardea’s….er… natural charisma to aid in battle. Fucking All Might himself can barely assist because he’s so focused on his own charade and helping Izzy take his place.

What did she have to lose?

“…Okay.”

“You accept my offer?”

Mardea stepped forward until she was within arm’s reach of Vera, “Yes, I accept.”

A smirk, “First lesson, show me what you got-“

And then Mardea was shoved off the roof.

-----

It felt that time slowed down as Mardea descended towards the ground. Was this a cruel joke? Had she just made a disastrous mistake?

She glanced at the dorm as she fell. There was a bird’s nest by the window of Kirishima’s room. A robin was asleep in it.

Bird.

Wings.

Hawks.

Summoning the memories of that night with the number two hero, Mardea’s hair turned white.

-----

Vera leaned over the edge, hoping she needn’t save her new student. A blur of white pushed past, nearly knocking her over. It flew through the clouds.

“Farther along than I thought,” Vera snapped her fingers, creating a platform to meet her in the sky.

-----

It’s quiet up here.

A cloud trail followed her into this space above the clouds- nothing but the stars and the moon keeping her company in the purple twilight. Mardea never fully thought and meditated on the ivory glow now outlining her fingertips and eyes.

Angelic.

“You’ve done well.” Vera’s voice broke the serenity Mardea found in the silence.

“You pushed me!”

“I would’ve saved you if you didn’t react.”

“Teachers don’t jeopardize their students’ lives.”

“Please, you jeopardize your lives every day in that school. You do so even more when you search for your brother.”

Crimson.

“Don’t get angry with me, little one. I came with good intentions and speaking only truth.”

Mardea’s wings collapsed, the energy reforming to match Vera’s platform. “I didn’t trust you much before that stunt, and that level certainly didn’t go up after.”

“Aw, pumpkin. Find solace in the fact that you’re farther along than I originally thought.” She crossed her arms, “I didn’t think you’d have figured out how to make wings work.”

A shrug, “Guess you should start giving me more credit.”

The platform shifted with each step Vera took away from Mardea. She had to walk with her to keep from falling again.

“I’ve seen the footage of your UA tournament battles. You have an…average range of colors.”

“Average?”

“There was bystander footage of your development of white, too. I’m glad to see that your body does react to the different pulls of energy in the world.” A sudden stop. “What’s curious is why more haven’t manifested at this point.” She turned to face Mardea, moon perfectly centered behind her, “Do you suppress your emotions or do you intentionally try and connect them to things outside your mind?”

A pause, “…I allow myself to feel things but it never occurred to me to try that.”

A cheeky grin, “That is your first lesson, pumpkin. Now go get some sleep!” Vera’s gloved hands clapped twice.

Green glowing energy outlines Mardea’s figure. Suddenly, she was back in Shoto’s dorm, laying on top of the blankets he’d gently pulled above her just hours before.

But he wasn’t there.

“Shoto?” Mardea tried to whisper to not wake the neighboring students. Or Aizawa. He’d kick their asses for breaking the bedroom rule. Feet touching the wood floor, she tiptoed to the door and opened slightly, peering into the hallway.

At the end of the hall, the elevator door opened. Shoto stepped out, looking concerned.

“Shoto!” A harsh loud whisper to get his attention. He seemed to perk up after seeing her in the doorway, and quickened his pace.

“Where did you go? I thought you went to your room.” Shoto closed the door behind him, taking Mardea’s hand with his free one. He felt colder than usual.

“She called out to me.”

“The woman from yesterday?” Brief panic “I didn’t hear anything…”

“No it was… like a mental connection. Telepathy, I guess? She talked to me for a bit. Anyway it was a lot and I’m really tired. I’ll tell you and Aizawa everything in the morning, okay?”

“…okay.”

“Shoto, is something wrong?” Mardea pulled him forward, letting them both sit on his bed.

Just talk to her dammit

“No.” Eyes drifted to the floor

“Don’t lie to me, Shoto.” Her hand squeezed his briefly, “You don’t have to tell me now, but don’t lie to me.”

Just TALK TO HER GODDAMMIT

“…I woke up… and… you were gone…”

“Did that-“

“You scared me.” Eyes still finding the floor fascinating. “You usually…” a breath, “Fuck, I know what I want to say but it won’t come out!” Shoto stood up in frustration, leaving Mardea on the bed. Both hands rolled through his hair.

“Shoto it’s oka-“

“No it’s not!” He realized how loud his voice was getting. He knelt to the floor, “Dea…” A shakier breath. Mardea knelt down to the floor beside him, giving him time to speak. “I want to… I want to help you and protect you but how am I supposed to do that when this woman can just… talk to you and bother you whenever she wants?”

There was genuine pain in his eyes. It made Mardea’s heart hurt.

“What am I supposed to do if she hurts you?” A single tear ran down his face.

She placed a hand on his face, thumb wiping away his tear, “I don’t know, Shoto.”

Ice seized his right side, leaving an intricate layer of frost. His breathing became uneven, ragged. Pupils constricted; eyes wide. Panic attack on the floor of his dorm at 3 in the morning. Panic. Panic. Panic panic panicpanicpanicpanic-

“It’ll be okay, love.” Mardea pulled him close, letting him lay on her as she leaned against the bed. The weight of his body on hers helped ease her racing heartbeat. “We’ll find a way to make it safe.” She kissed his hair, using her free hand to rub his unfrosted back. “You’re not going to lose me, Shoto.”

All the words she hoped he needed to hear. Hoped he could hear amidst the intrusive thoughts racing his mind.

As the minutes went by, they both calmed down. Too tired to move, Mardea used her quirk to teleport them to bed for the last remaining hours of nighttime.

#mardea lin #shoto todoroki #oc #original character #mha #bnha #my hero academia #if you look closely you can see where i picked up inspo from into the unknown from frozen 2

1 note · View note