thenearshore | [Closed] Just to keep me out of trouble

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[Closed] Just to keep me out of trouble

Who: Izuku Midoriya, Shouto Todoroki | Izuku Midoriya, Fuu Hououji, Souji Seta
What: Practicing Shouto's quirk | Three strategists walk into a room...
When: May 1, noon | May 2, evening
Where: Aidos' apartments
Warnings: None

Offering training is a sure fire way of getting Izuku to stay at home. Sure he's not resting, but he is at home and thus not running off into danger, so it could probably be counted as a success. For a certain value of success, that is.

They're right outside of the apartment building as Izuku considers the training they're about to be doing. "It's probably going to be easier if I share our quirks like this. You're strong, right, Todoroki?" Power sharing is always a little nerve wracking when it comes to One for All, but they're at about the same strength.

---

He wasn't kidding when he said he had a lot of room. Kido practically lives in his apartment, and he's getting the feeling Shouto's considering moving in too. The apartment has plenty of space to offer and plenty of furnished apartments. So for the moment, he's standing in front of one of the first floor apartments. The armory is right next door if they need it for anything.

For the moment he's just waiting on the other two. There's a nice table set up for them to talk things over. It's a little different, he muses, than having to plan right in the heat of the moment. But pre-planning for emergencies is important, and maybe they can help more if they have some sort of plan.

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For a certain value of success is about what Shouto will accept.

They're lucky that there's room for this kind of thing around the temple-apartments, because there's no way he'd let Izuku unleash his quirk inside a building - even one of the spare apartments they'll be transforming into something else, inevitably. He doesn't think they'll wind up with enough people living here to fill out the whole thing, to be honest.

"I would say so," he replies, looking back at his god from the assessment of the area around them.

There's no way Izuku would be willing to use Shouto's quirk indoors after trying to use it to kill an akayashi. He clearly has no control over it and trying to use it inside... that sounds like a disaster in the making. If they didn't have room here, he'd just go to the closest park.

"I can share powers between two people. That might make this a little easier. I have to be touching them for a little while though..." He'll reach a hand out, letting Shouto decide if he's willing to share it like this. His vessel form is one thing, this is another.

Even a park is a little questionable to him. Something tells Shouto that he could overtake a park, easily, and that might be harder to hide than their presences normally are. Add Izuku to the equation, and that's... probably a recipe for disaster.

So this is fine.

He looks from his face down to his outstretched hand. After all of the physical contact that he's been dealt over the past couple of days, holding Izuku's hand has started to seem a little normal. He's still not entirely sure what to do with the tactile affection that he and Kido seem fond of, but, regardless, he reaches out to take his hand.

Shouto's right, Izuku has absolutely no control over half-cold half-hot, and doesn't know the meaning of moderation. The park would probably be frozen over by the end of the day, if not the moment they began.

Once Shouto's holding his hand, there's the feeling of Shouto's quirk, as All for One passes over. He'll pull his hand back after a moment. "There, alright. Uh... don't try to punch anything at a hundred percent. Anyway. Practicing your quirk, right? It'd be better if I didn't... accidentally freeze over an entire neighborhood..."

Patiently waiting through the exchange - which is odd, when he feels that power - Shouto looks down at his own hand when Izuku pulls back, curious. But he holds onto that for the time being, because he doesn't really plan on using this quirk that often. They can take their time with him learning that, versus Izuku having to learn his.

"I'll keep that in mind." Like he doesn't have a proper understanding of percentages and moderation. Now he just needs to work on teaching Izuku that. "Right. We'll teach you how to control mine via ice, first. You can't be trusted with the fire until you're not going to freeze the entire block over."

Shouto's quirk is something he needs to be able to deal with if they're going to be an effective team. Since it's not directly controlled by Shouto the way Kido's perception manipulation is, he needs to figure out how to use it. Kido's ability is incredibly useful, but it's a support skill. Sure he can use One for All to kill ayakashi, but that runs the high risk of blight.

"Right. Ice is more controlled," even if Izuku hasn't gained control yet. "That's for the best." He pauses for a moment. "How do you use it? Do you visualize something?"

There's a chance that Shouto can have better control of his quirk while he's in his vessel form, but they... didn't really have much time to test that out. Now's the perfect chance for them to see what they can do, but at least he knows how to control his power. Izuku does not. So he's the focus for today.

He thinks for a long moment before he actually gives him an answer, focus forwards, eyes narrowed a little. There are no memories for him to work with, nothing that he really visualizes when he's used his quirk over the past week. Instead, it's... instinctive, almost. He pulls on the power and it comes. But there's one thing, maybe.

"It's more instinct than thought, but. Emotions have a lot to do with it."

Considering how Shouto learned how to work with his quirk, maybe it's better he doesn't remember how he was trained. They have a blank slate to work with and they'll just have to deal with it.

Izuku just watches him before he answers. And then he's quiet as he considers. More instinct than thought, huh? With One for All it felt like flipping a switch to begin with and then slowly understanding that he could essentially microwave his entire body with the power so it was evenly distributed. But it also isn't tied up with his emotions.

This could take a bit. "What do you feel when you use ice?"

When he thinks about his quirk, he knows there's something missing. Anger fuels both sides to a degree that's lethal, overwhelming. He knows this without knowing the source of that anger. But Shouto also knows that he has control of it even without the anger.

"There's no one emotion that's specific to one side over the other, but... there's more anger when it comes to using fire." He holds his right hand out, fingers outstretched as the temperature drops and ice forms along his shoulder, the length of his arm, his wrist, his hand. He focuses on the feelings has while drawing on that power, instinctive as it is, still just as calm as he normally is as he does it.

But there's a contradictory undercurrent to it, something warmer that he can't put his finger on. Like they'd belong to happier memories, if he had them. "Ice feels like something that's... calmer. Comforting, maybe."

The anger leaks right back to Izuku. Sharp and biting, after seeing it for himself, he understands why, though he's still stuck not able to say a word of it to Shouto.

He lets the explanation sink in for a moment, watching Shouto use his quirk. It was incredible at home, and it's still amazing now, even at the small display. Shouto's Shouto, no matter what happens and it's comforting in a way. A weird sort of way, but this whole god and shink thing is weird to begin with.

"So... think comforting when using ice?" That doesn't seem quite right when he considers all the times he's watched Shouto be anything other than that. Still watching a quirk is very, very different than using it for yourself.

He'll pull at the borrowed quirk residing in him, immediately coating his entire right side in ice.

Nobody said this would be easy.

It's hard to really describe the exact things that he feels when using his quirk. There's always that undercurrent of calmness, an anchor to the rest of his emotions, but the tether between it and them is that constant anger, in a way. Like he had this lesson beaten into him. (He did.) Without thinking, he twists his wrist and brings his arm close again, ice and all, movements still smooth despite the fact he's got a cast of ice from his shoulder to his wrist.

And then he watches Izuku, and can't help but snort as he watches him just. Explode the ice into being. That's definitely something he's done before, but it's different when it's on purpose.

"You're very bad at control," Shouto observes, bluntly. But there's nothing mean in his tone or expression as he reaches out with his left hand, melting the ice for him since he'd probably set himself on fire if he tried to moderate and melt it himself. "What do you think about when you use your quirk?"

Izuku doesn't have any specific feelings that come up when it comes to using One for All. Sure, there are plenty of feelings about having it, pride, concern, acceptance, joy. All Might comes to mind immediately.

Control is something that's taken him a long, long time to learn. His quirk is... it is his own now, but it wasn't his to begin with.

He sighs, but doesn't move away as Shouto undoes the ice Izuku's accidentally covered himself in.

"Microwaves and taikoyaki. Uh... I guess that sounds really weird, but basically it's like... My body is the taikoyaki and the microwave's hitting it all over. So my power's distributed evenly along my body." No, he's pretty sure it still sounds kind of weird, but that's how Izuku thinks about it.

"That's..." Shouto gives him a peculiar look, like he's trying to process that explanation, adjusting the flames so that he can get all of the ice without catching anything on fire. He also manages to effectively dry much of Izuku's clothes where the ice has melted, control precise enough even if he can't get into the damp folds. "A very weird analogy."

Again, blunt, but not necessarily judgmental. He thinks about it as he shakes his left hand out, extinguishing the fire and letting the ice on his right side melt away on its own through his body temperature shifting.

"You can't do that with mine, though. Even distribution doesn't work, given the contradicting nature of it. So you have to find a way to stem it, until you can control the power of it." There's a very long beat, the calm of his emotions shifting into something a little more bemused, as he tries to figure out an analogy for this. "Like a... faucet, I guess."

Izuku gives him a helpless look back. He knows how weird it sounds, but it's the only thing that managed to work for him. It's plain as plain can get, but it fits him, he thinks. A plain metaphor for a plain person.

He'll consider the analogy that Shouto uses to make his quirk make sense to Izuku and he really has to appreciate that Shouto's meeting him in the realm of weird analogies. He's not sure he'd understand it otherwise. "A faucet... I think I can understand that. Thank you, Todoroki... So just putting it on drip while I get used to your quirk?"

Metaphors don't work for someone that thinks in directs like Shouto. Blunt honesty, direct approaches, strict control. But he tries to work in a way that Izuku does, instead of just dismissing it. Because if this is what is effective for him, then he needs that, right?

"I think so." Because it's worth trying. He shrugs, a twitch of his shoulders. "Consider letting it drip being at five percent instead of a hundred, like when we fought the ayakashi. That worked for the sheer numbers we faced, but because you have no endurance for the quirk yet it was exhausting."

He points at Izuku's hand. "So, drip."

If he considers Shouto's quirk at a hundred to be what he did during their ayakashi fight, then that's basically when he shoves the faucet handle all the way over. It's not practical and it leaves a huge mess. Plus it's a quirk he has no practice in, which means water goes everywhere.

He'll close his eyes and focus on just nudging the faucet handle enough to let some of water out. With that, there's a steady forming, little section of ice at his palm.

"Hey! It worked!"

Watching closely, like he's making sure that he doesn't erupt in ice again, Shouto lets out a soft noise of approval when there's no sign of ice save for on his hand. It's... progress. Very, very slow progress, but progress regardless. (Even without his memories, he knows this level of patience with regards to learning how to control a quirk is foreign to him. Much like the tactile affection that he's been given since meeting Izuku and Kido, it's just not something that he was ever given.

So, he tries to give it to Izuku.)

"Better. Hang on." He goes to the side of the lot, bending down to pick something up. When he returns, he holds out a plastic water bottle by the cap in his right hand. "We're going to work on controlling that drip, then."

He's glad to hear the approval, even if it is soft. It's more than he would have expected- though he's never really had the opportunity to be taught anything by Shouto.

Once he's back with the water bottle, Izuku gives him a puzzled little look. "Do you want me to freeze it?"

Honestly, given the full tilt, 100% attacks he used before... Shouto's really impressed. But he's not entirely sure how to give praise, even if he does approve. So he'll work on making sure that Izuku knows when he's making progress.

"Yes, eventually. But first, wrap your hand around it and repeat what you just did." Because it's not enough to freeze the entire bottle, maybe just frost it over or create a bit of slush, but it's a good visual example of the effect the so-called 'drip' of power will have on his surroundings.

It just takes the right metaphor to make a power click for him. And even if the praise is light, it's enough for Izuku to know he's figuring things out, bit by bit.

He'll take the bottle into his hand and think of that five percent drip he was using a moment ago. He can't let it go any farther than this- he needs to learn control. The biggest thing for Shouto's quirk is control.

Slowly the water in the bottle starts to freeze from his palm and out.

"Too much...?"

Watching, Shouto doesn't let go of the bottle. It's just in case he overdoes it, because he won't take any damage from the ice. At least, he's guessing he won't. It's his quirk, he's just sharing it. But Izuku surprises him a little - it's more than the frost he was expecting, the slushy consistency of melting snow, maybe.

"A little, but in a good way. I was expecting frost, but you actually started to freeze it." He touches the bottom of it with his left hand, reversing the effects without really batting an eye. "You just... turned the faucet, I guess? Enough that it was more than just a 'drip' that happened. Which is fine, because even unconsciously you need to control it - I meant it when I said a lot of it was instinctive. I don't have a lot of time to think when I'm using my quirk, no matter which side it is, but I need to be aware of limitations and what I need on a subconscious level."

Shouto's quirk can't hurt him the way his own quirk does, which is probably the reason he's turned up that five percent a little higher than he meant to. There's no risk of breaking bones when it comes to ice.

Still, he definitely respects Shouto for how good he is at such a finesse based quirk. It must have taken a lot of training to use it so effectively. "You know you're really amazing, right?"

While he doesn't remember it, himself, just knows that it's a thing, Izuku has seen what happens when he uses too much of the ice. Movements slowing down to sluggish levels, risk of frostbite, hypothermia. But it's after a certain degree of power, of extended use, that can be balanced out with fire.

It's not like One for All, where he risks breaking bones and permanent damage.

He can't help but blink in surprise, expression shifting from placid to mild confusion. "What do you mean?"

It's a balancing act, a very careful one to make sure that he doesn't suffer from hypothermia or anything worse.

"Your quirk is amazing, Todoroki. And the fact you can use it so carefully- that's really amazing! There's so much you can do." It's just a truth. Every quirk is impressive in it's own way, but learning and using Shouto's gives him an even broader perspective on how amazing Shouto is.

Exactly why Shouto is trying to be so precise with teaching Izuku. He doesn't want to run the risk of him getting hurt because of his power. Anything to help.

For a second, he's not entirely certain how to respond to that. His power is what it is, and he knows that he has a great deal of control after having honed it for most of his life. He doesn't even need to have his memories to know that. It's all as natural as breathing. But to have someone sincerely, genuinely, say it's amazing...

He ducks his head a little. "You'll be able to do it, too."

Izuku is entirely sincere and honest when it comes to how much he admires Shouto when it comes to his quirk. He makes it look so effortless when it's difficult to use properly. Instinctive is the last thing Izuku would call it, but Shouto's had a whole life time to learn about it. (And a horrible father who trained him, but at least he doesn't remember that.)

"I know. But it's only because you have such a great grasp on it that you can teach me effectively."

Though he doesn't remember it, his father is the exact reason why it's instinctive now. Built in over years and years of harsh training, all culminating into what it is today, but it was Izuku who reminded him that it's not Endeavor's. It's not his mother's. It's his, and he commands it like that, now.

"I think your way of learning and mine are really different," he admits. The metaphors are so weird. "But I'll do my best. You're good at listening, and starting small means the mistakes are easier and faster to learn from, I think."

Shouto's power is Shouto's. And that's all there is to it, when it comes to Izuku. It's his power and he should use it as such.

"It definitely seems that way. But... I think you're a good teacher, Todoroki." He's adjusting for Izuku's style of learning, after all. "If you weren't the whole lot would be covered in ice."

"A small start sounds like the best bet to being able to control it."

"I don't want someone to get hurt because of my power." It's as simple as that. Even if it's Izuku using it, instead of him, it's still his to share with his god. And if he doesn't prepare him for really using it, then... what good is he, as a shinki? "But I think you'll be able to figure it out, get control of it."

Shouto takes the water bottle, rolls it between his palms, thinking. "At least with ice there's an option of a small start."

There's a soft smile on his face at that. That's Shouto. He was so earnest about accidentally hurting people's hands after the alleyway incident. Shouto is Shouto, even without all the memories, and Izuku is so glad for it. "I know you don't."

He nods. "I think if we keep working at it, I'll be able to get the hang of it by the next time we need to use it on a prayer."

The curse... Shouto doesn't remember it, but the caution he has regarding hurting innocent people remains. Memories or not, that's hard to get rid of now that Izuku's brought back his real desire to be a hero, the one founded on growing up with All Might and wanting to make his mother happy. Not the one brought on by spite.

Shifting his grasp on the bottle to his right hand so that he holds it upright from the bottom, he lets it freeze completely, causing the plastic to crackle with the sudden expansion.

"And you don't have to be precise, so long as you get the hang of it. I'll take care of that part."

He watches the bottle freeze over in Shouto's hands. He's always liked Shouto's quirk, liked watching him use it, both parts, after he'd finally accepted it as his own instead of denying it. It's... hard knowing so much about Shouto when he doesn't know his past.

"We can do this together. I trust you." And that's true. They might have a fresh start in a way, but Izuku trusts him entirely. "I'll work on control."

Fuu was not playing around with bringing snacks. She has a very, very big basket of both pastries and fresh fruit. She approaches curiously at first before she sees Izuku, when she beams sweetly and bows.

"It's a pleasure to see you, Midoriya-san. Thank you for letting us meet here."

While Souji isn't very far behind, he doesn't come nearly as prepared as Fuu does. He's a little impressed by the basket when he draws closer, spotting the two of them, but he ambles over with a smile. Considering he's well used to both planning in advance and the spur of the moment decision, this is old hat for him. He's glad for something that's normal in this place.

(To him, anyways.)

"I'm glad I'm not late, then."

"It's good to see you too, Hououji." Izuku bows back as she does, out of politeness and habit. When he sees the basket, his eyes widen a bit, but then again, she did say she was the goddess of these things. He knows he shouldn't be that surprised but it's still a bit startling to see that much. Still, his partners will eat what they don't.

"It's good to meet you in person, Seta. Everybody's on time." He'll unlock the door and swing it open. An apartment with a similar layout to his own, a tv against a wall, a couch and an arm chair surrounding it, a low table in the middle. Next to the kitchen is a dining table that's been cleared of any decorations.

"I don't mind hosting. It's good to make use of some of these apartments! Make yourselves comfortable." He'll shuffle to the side and let them both into the room.

She can't help what she has. Also, she lives with two bakers, not that either of them know it, and she has to make sure her skills are up to snuff. She'll enter the room and set it down gently on the coffee table in the living room. It's best to keep the dining room table clear, she thinks.

"I hope you didn't have to rush, Seta-san. I don't think either of us would've minded waiting." She smiles when she turns back to both of them. "I've been thinking quite a bit about this, and considering everything as carefully as I can. Someone actually told me they're interested in setting up a system that can forewarn ayakashi attacks, too, using magic and technology."

"Thank you for hosting us, regardless." Ducking his head in a little bow to the two of them, Souji lets them enter the apartment first before he trails in after them. Habit has him wanting to take his shoes off at the door, but he refrains, considering they make no move to and this is... more of a meeting space, apparently, than a living one.

He offers Fuu a smile, shrugging his shoulders. "It's just me and my cats at my temple, at the moment, so I'm not doing much when I'm home. It was no rush."

As she brings up the warning system, he works to shrug off his bag's strap, opening it up and bringing out a notebook. It seemed like a good idea to bring something to write things down on, in the event that they got on a tangent. "If they can find a way to do it, I'd definitely support it. Obviously magic works here, regardless of where we're from, so it's just a matter of finding that mesh and seeing if it works on ayakashi."

Izuku lives in an apartment and has two shinki who aren't that outgoing. He's pretty sure it's better to keep their shared living space, well, theirs. If he has this many unused rooms, it's best they get used for something instead of getting stuck gathering dust.

"I saw that on the network too. It was a while back and I haven't heard much about it after. If I remember, it was Add who was creating that system? I can't offer much in the way of magic." He settles at the dining table and pulls out his own notebook, offering a small smile when he sees Souji's.

"I heard it from someone else, myself. He said he was working with someone named Ankh on it..." Fuu commits things to memory well. She always has been. Her notes are good, but her memory is solid.

"I'll keep my contact informed, so long as we make progress. Leaving it to them is better than focusing on both things. For now, I think it's best for us to focus on how we'll try to respond to things and what to do in case of emergencies ourselves." She pulls from her bag a notebook herself, but on the first page is just a list of questions.

Fuu why.

"I really think our first course of action is setting up a contact system between us."

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[Closed] Just to keep me out of trouble

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