Aika Age 12

Toya Age 13

~Toya’ POV~

I kicked a small rock on the trail to take me to my favorite training spot. It was where Dad used to train and where I'd been training in secret, Sekoto Peak.  The rock flew several feet before freezing in the air. The space around it was oddly still. Though there was a chilly winter breeze, the leaves of the trees in that area were frozen as if in time. I glanced around, looking for the source.

Glancing behind me, I spotted the girl I'd met yesterday, Aika. She stood about a head shorter than me, reaching my shoulders and had long silvery white hair that was loose and wildly flapping in the wind. My gaze fell on her blue gray eyes then down to the bandage across her cheek. She'd been injured defending me. She gracefully leapt from the tree branch she'd been perched on and skipped over to me.

“Hi Toya.” She grinned.

I heard the rock I'd kicked fall in the distance as she released her quirk. “Hey Aika.” Her words from the day before rang in my head and I felt embarrassed.

“What ya doing?” She laced her hands together behind her back and fell in step beside me.

“Training.” I threw her a curious look, “how did you know where to find me?”

“I did some digging online, found your address and saw you leave so I tagged along.” She shrugged.

“That's stalking.” I pointed, though I weirdly wasn't upset by it, I'd wanted to see her again to make sure she was okay. She'd been bleeding a lot when I last saw her.

“And?” She giggled.

I shook my head. “Are you okay? You were bleeding a lot yesterday.”

Aika offered me another grin, “Good as new.” She reached into her pocket and fished out my now clean handkerchief. Last time I'd seen it, it had been soaked in her blood. “Thanks for this.”

“Keep it. I feel like you're reckless enough you're going to need it again.” I smiled, it was easy to do in her presence.

A faint flush of color spread across her cheeks and she quietly tucked it back into her pocket. “Kay!” She beamed.

I looked down at my arms. Yesterday they were covered in small burn scars. Today they and my torso were completely unscathed as if I hadn't had the burns to begin with. She'd hurt herself to heal me.  “Aika?”

She turned to me curiously.

“Thank you.”

“What for?” Aika pondered.

“For healing me…and for defending me and my dream.” I felt something stir within me and quickly wiped at my eyes. No one believed in me. My father was actively against my dream and had forbidden me from training with my quirk. Even my siblings didn't believe in me. This strange girl showed up out of nowhere and she believed in me and I hadn't realized just how much I needed that. 

Her eyes lit up, they were a curious color, a mix of skyblue and gray that blended into a somewhat dusty blue color. She offered me another smile and looped her arm through mine. “Parents are supposed to support their children's dreams, I'm sorry yours are stupid.” She hugged my arm as she walked alongside me. 

“Do your parents support your dream?” I asked curiously, what even was this crazy girl's dream? 

“They did when they were alive.” She shrugged.

She didn't seem broken up about it. I moved on, “what is your dream?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment, “well when my parents were alive it was to create a donut shop for pirates out in the middle of the ocean. My dad helped me make logos and draw the kind of ship we needed.” She giggled at my side.

“That sounds ridiculous.” I couldn't help but laugh.

Aika continued to giggle. “Yeah I guess, but it was a fun idea, until I realized I cannot swim to save my life. I don't really know what my dream is now.” She shrugged.

“Well what do you want to do?” I pondered needing to know more about this strange girl.

She looked oddly serious as she thought it over for a long moment. I was beginning to worry she'd hurt herself thinking too hard and was about to tell her I didn't need to know when she finally spoke. “Right now, I think I'd like to help you with your dream.” She smiled serenely.

I felt my heart stutter in my chest. “Why?”

She shrugged, “Dunno, seems fun!” She giggled.

I shook my head at the strange girl but my heart felt lighter. When we reached my favorite spot, I disentangled myself from Aika and she skipped away to hop across some rocks in one of the streams.

“Don't fall in, it's cold.” I warned her.

She turned to me and stuck her tongue out, “I'm not that clums-.” Her foot slipped on the slick rock and she fell into the frigid stream with a splash.

“Aika!” I groaned and ran to fish her out of the stream. 

“I guess I am that clumsy.” She giggled as I helped her out of the water. 

I frowned as she sneezed. Her thin frame was shivering. “Hold on.” I activated my quirk concentrating on keeping the flames under control so they wouldn't lash out at her. I winced as my hands began to burn as I held the fire close to her in an attempt to warm her up and speed up the drying process.

Aika beamed and leaned into the warmth. “So toasty.” She was still shivering. 

I sighed. After about ten minutes I got her mostly dry and she resumed her skipping, though avoided the stream. 

I focused on trying to increase the temperature of my flames. My skin began to burn as the flames flickered from orange to blinding white to a vibrant hellfire blue. Aika paused in her skipping and turned to watch in awe. The flames were harder to control at this temperature and I panicked as they grew beyond my control.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Aika's eyes begin to glow a shocking icy blue color and the next thing I knew Aika was in front of me, and the flames I'd conjured were nearly twenty feet away from us and dispersed quickly. Aika smiled up at me brightly before letting out a cheer.

“That was so cool, Toya!” A thin stream of blood dribbled from her nose.

I glanced down at my arms, when I'd started to lose control I'd felt burns beginning to spread across my body. They were gone. 

“You're bleeding.” I reached for her.

She grinned up at me brighter than before, “I'm okay!” 

I sighed and grabbed my handkerchief she'd tucked into her pocket and pressed it to her nose.