Slushie 3

He cleared his throat, looking away. "About your quirk…" Can she hear him?

Olivia looked at him and started to smile, feeling the weight of the conversation slowly lift. "I can hear you." She nodded at him, "It's pretty distracting for me, but-"

But good for hearing our opponents.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Being able to hear people without touching them is… new to me, I guess you could say. I'm very familiar with Mashirao's mind, but he's avoiding me." She pouted.

"A smart decision if he knows your quirk." Shoto acknowledged, a little uncomfortable. She let out a hum and nodded.

"I know what you plan to do, and even though it's super boring and means the rest of us won't get a chance to grow as heroes…"

He looked away, unbothered.

"I suppose it's the best plan for the hypothetical situation."

He snapped his eyes back to her, and internally agreed. Of course it was.

"But! I can help do it even faster." She chirped, pumping her fist in the air, "But it'll require working together, Slushie." She sent another look at him. "Prove to Yaoyorozu that you're different, and that being at the top doesn't mean ignoring the people below you. What do you say?"

He glared at her, wishing she would leave his head. She had a point though. If he was not willing to acknowledge his teammate now, he would be the same as his father. He was thinking less of him for not acknowledging his mother, and yet he originally had no intention of talking to his own partner either.

... Sorry, no offense...

That mind quirk of hers is troublesome.

She laughed, confirming she had been listening. "I'm not exactly fond of it either recently."

"Is that why you drink?" He questioned, remembering how unsure of herself Momo had been when she talked about Olivia.

"If I tell you, will you let me help instead of dominating the assignment?" Olivia quipped back.

He considered leaving, but thought of Momo again and stayed.

"Yes, as long as you are also honest to Momo, and tell her the reason you stopped talking to her. I think she blames herself." He said, looking at Olivia in disapproval.

Olivia's smile faltered a bit, and she looked regretful. "Of course... I've been meaning to talk to her and was planning to tell her myself… eventually." She hesitated. "She means a lot to me. As kids, our parents were always so busy... That's something I've been meaning to repair… It's just… complicated. I can tell you both later tonight, if that's okay. I think we're up in a few minutes anyway, and even the short story is long."

"Then I agree." Shoto nodded, relieved things would be solved between the two girls soon. "So, what was your addition to my idea?" He asked, walking with her to the battlefield.

As she launched into her idea, he almost wanted to go back on their agreement. But he had to admit, even though it was silly, it would work well with his own idea.

Absolutely no piggy back rides though, he thought to her, and she laughed.

As they stood in front of the building, Olivia sucked in a breath and chuckled. "Well, they're definitely together and one of them is naked. Three guesses which one. They're both standing on the ground, soooo go ahead, Slushie!" She clapped her hands, excited.

He ignored the nickname and walked into the building, putting a hand on the wall. He heard her gasp behind him as he froze the building, closing his eyes as the cold creeped into his pores. He finished and looked at the girl standing outside.

She nodded, with a "Got 'em!" Before climbing onto the ice. She immediately started to slip and he sighed, annoyed, before grabbing her forearm. She clasped her hand onto his forearm as well, interlocking them, before righting herself and giggling "Mush!"

He promptly decided he was going to let her fall next time she said something like that. She puffed out air behind him, "Fine, sorry Slushie."

Todoroki, he corrected her.

"Sooorry Todoroki."

He nodded, and kicked off, ice forming under their feet as they slid through the building.

"Warmer" Olivia was concentrating behind him, trusting him to lead and keep her upright as they quickly slid through the building. As she listened to the sounds only she could hear, she guided them towards the bomb and the people guarding it.

"Warmer" He rounded the corner "Colder" They went up the stairs "Warmer" "Warmer!"

They made it to the fourth floor and he turned one way before a "Colder", then turned the opposite way "Hot!" They neared a room "Extra hot!" "Spicy hot!" "You're on fiiiiiireeeeeee!!!!! Haha, get it? You're on fire?"

They reached the room and he let go of Olivia's arm, causing her to land on the ice with an 'oof'.

Told you I'd drop you the next time, he reminded her in his head.

She huffed, staying down, before looking up at her friend.

"Don't even think about it Mashirao, Slushie thinks you'll rip the skin off your feet." She warned as Ojiro twitched.

As Shoto saw the expression on his face, he tried to ignore what Olivia had said earlier about others having a chance to grow. He didn't have a choice in becoming like this, but... maybe he had a choice in what he did from here on out, now that they lived at school.

As he passed Ojiro, he quietly said "It's not your fault, we're just playing on different levels."

Ojiros's lips pressed together at that, but he nodded.

Shoto touched the bomb, and "HERO TEAMS WINS" came across the loudspeakers. He immediately started to melt the area, feeling a little guilty as the invisible girl started yelping in pain as her feet touched the boiling water. Olivia was checking on Ojiro, quietly responding to what Shoto now knew she was hearing in the guy's head.

"Heat too?" Hagakure groaned, still sounding pained. Shoto didn't respond, but as he walked past her he lowered the temperature where he guessed she was from the footprints in the puddle. She sighed in relief, and Shoto saw Olivia looking at him, her lips twitching up in a smile at his action.

Looking away, he made his way back down the stairs with them as they walked to the control room. He was the last to enter the room, but before he was inside he was almost knocked down by the force Momo hugged him with.

"I'm so proud of you." She whispered to only him, and he felt himself smile as he hugged her back, burying his face in her shoulder. "You're going to be a great hero one day, Shoto."

He leaned back to look her in the eyes. "So are you." He breathed, believing it. She smiled and released him, both of them walking into the room. He didn't even listen to his review as he looked at her instead.

He was going to be the number one hero, and he was going to do it with her by his side.