Mending Bridges 2

Star followed his gaze and saw Todoroki walking over to them with Yaoyorozu slightly behind, their hands intertwined. She would have smiled at the quiet display of affection, but her face seemed to have stopped working due to nerves. She could hear Todoroki's concern for Yaoyorozu and his own quiet curiosity. She could hear Yaoyorozu's anxiety mixed with hope. And though it was uncomfortable for Star to hear three people in addition to herself in her head, she found enough courage in the fact Yaoyorozu missed their friendship to start talking.

"Well, um, I'm sure Todoroki informed you- er, I know Todoroki informed you why I asked you here. Sorry, bad habit." Star winced, feeling like she was already off to a bad start.

"You got my name correct, I'm surprised." Todoroki deadpanned from next to Yaoyorozu on the opposite couch.

Yaoyorozu widened her eyes, "Shoto!"

Star scratched the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly, "Nah, it's okay, I get where he's coming from after calling him Slushie for the whole training…" Yaoyorozu turned to look at Star now. "It's hard to remember longer names when I drink."

"To be fair, it's hard for you to remember to call anyone by their last name, drunk or sober." Mashirao pointed out from beside her.

She shot him a look, but didn't disagree, "That's not a thing in America, in my defense!"

"So I assume you are not currently drinking, then." Yaoyorozu deduced. Star forgot how smart she was. She could feel Mashirao's ache next to her, mirroring her own. They hadn't had a real conversation with the girl they called their friend in a while.

"Correct, perceptive as always, Yaoyorozu." Star tightly smiled, unsure where they stood since Yaoyorozu wasn't even sure herself.

"You can both call me Momo," She smiled kindly, looking at them both with sad eyes. "Even if it has been a long time, I still consider you both friends, and I hope UA gives us the opportunity to remain so."

Star smiled and felt Mashirao do so as well, and the three of them all felt some weight lifted from the heavy air around them.

"Same goes for you as well." Mashirao smiled. Star felt his nerves rise again and her own followed, knowing it was time to start.

"Well… You were right about everything you said at lunch, Momo." Star started sheepishly, and Momo's cheeks got a pink tinge. "Except that I go by Olivia now, to avoid attention."

"I apologize, Olivia. I did not mean to offend you in any way-"

"No no it's fine! It was just facts anyway and I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, your mind is just more familiar to me so it was easier to pick up on and…" Star trailed off, twiddling nervously with her hair again. "Well, anyway, you were right. My quirk is mental, and I'm sorry you couldn't remember. My father went to great lengths back then to make sure my quirk was hidden."

"You told me you can read minds, correct?" Todoroki spoke up, giving Momo's hand a light squeeze. Star heard Momo processing that a quirk had been used to mess with her memory, and felt guilty that it was her family's fault. The Yaoyorozu's knew that her dad's quirk was mental, but Momo was obviously just now figuring out to what extent.

Similar to how Star's quirk was never registered in Japan, her dad's quirk registry in America was also a little unique. While known as 'flight', allowing him to fly at high speeds, it was actually a different aspect of his quirk that caused that.

Telekinetic energy.

By using the telekinetic energy around him, he could do things like enhance his strength, fly, and even manipulate minds. The telekinetic energy surrounding him was probably why Star wasn't able to read his mind. In her case, genetics were probably the reason he wasn't able to manipulate hers.

"Yeah, it's easiest to read surface thoughts and feelings, but the rest I can also read with familiarity, concentration, or touch." Star responded candidly.

Momo looked up at that, "You can feel emotions too? That does not sound like a simple mind reading quirk to me."

Star thought about that, listening to the implications in Momo's brain. Often quirks seem to be one thing, but as they grow you discover they are something else. This is why they allow you to update your quirk in the registry- oh Star isn't in the registry, Momo had forgotten.

Star shook her head and focused back on her own thoughts instead of Momo's. "Either way, despite my parent's efforts, I guess word got out somehow."

Mashirao stiffened next to her and took over. "Olivia and I were walking back to her apartment one night after shopping, when a purple mist started forming around her. I've never seen anything like it…" Mashirao frowned, and anxiety and guilt rolled off of him, "It was over in less than a second. I didn't even have time to drop the groceries I was holding before she was gone. I was terrified. I have studied every form of martial art and come from a long line of protectors, and I wasn't able to stop it. I failed. Two days later, a man named Hitoshi Shinso was taken as well."

Star frowned, upset he still blamed himself. She'd have to reassure him again later.

"I…" She took a deep breath, unable to describe what she had been feeling, or what had happened, without falling into a flashback. So she stuck to the facts instead. "I was used to locate people with certain quirks. My whole life, I had only been able to hear people when I touched them, but they had someone that changed that. Their quirk allowed them to access my mental quirk and use it in not just my mind, but their own as well."

Momo frowned, "So the power was able to not only be increased, but also used past it's normal limitations since one of the bodies is not the villain's own?"

"Yes, and he didn't exactly worry about my body, or it's limitations." Star winced, pushing away the thought as her breathing got a little erratic.

"Quirks can grow through extended use or pushed limitations. That was the training I went through for years before UA. It is how my quirk grew to the level it's at currently." Todoroki admitted in a guarded tone. "That is what I meant by what I said during training, Ojiro."

Mashirao nodded, "I understand, there are no hard feelings."

"Exactly," Star nodded. "Imagine all of that training, in a week."

It was silent for a few minutes, and she felt a stronger understanding from Todoroki than she expected.

"I wasn't able to handle how much it had grown. I'm still not. I was never alone in my head anymore, and I was going crazy... Soon after, I found out that alcohol dampened my quirk's power." She admitted, looking at the ground.

Momo nodded, "Alcohol is able to reduce a mental quirks power, similar to how muscle relaxants are able to for strength quirks." She recited.

"I know it's… a coward's way out… But that's why I'm here. So I can learn to control my quirk until I'm able to handle it at its full power without it incapacitating me." Star finished, looking up at Momo. "I'm sorry that I lost touch, and I'm sorry I didn't reach out to you or answer your calls. I was going through a lot with my parents, then with the incident, and then with keeping it out of the press, and… I stopped being a friend to you. I'm sorry."

Momo got up and wrapped her arms around Star, smiling sadly. "I forgive you Olivia, and I understand now. Thank you for trusting me enough to share with me. If you need anything, do not hesitate to let me know." Star hugged her back and Todoroki nodded at her before getting up as well. Momo stepped back and looked at Todoroki, wondering if he was coming upstairs with her, Star heard in Momo's head.

He shook his head in return, seeming to understand what Momo was asking in her expression, "I'll be right up, I would like to ask Olivia something, if it is alright with her." Star nodded, mutely. She could feel the questions, and she knew they were important, but she still dreaded answering them.

"I'll walk with you, Momo. I'm headed to my room as well." Mashirao spoke up, and Momo smiled at him as they went to the elevator, catching up as they walked.

Star turned to Todoroki, and noticed he seemed to prefer thinking in his head over talking with her outloud. She knew it was because he wasn't used to being social with her, or at least that was the thought that briefly flittered in his head before he swatted it away. He refocused, wanting to know why they needed certain people with certain quirks.

"They, um. They had a way to transfer the quirk into these creatures… Engineered to handle more than one quirk in their bodies. The creatures have a, um, combination of other people's DNA in them." She shuddered when she heard their screech in her head and her breathing quickened. The creature and their name were a weak point in her carefully crafted line of defense against her memories.

She felt Todoroki's mind whirl with all the news articles he's read and all the cases his father had worked on as he tried to piece together something she wasn't even sure of herself.

"No, I don't know why. I'm sorry." She quietly responded.

He was wondering how they got the people, going through missing person cases he has read. She frowned at all the faces going through his mind, moving away from his thoughts and more into her own. "They also took a man named Hitoshi Shinso, like Mashirao mentioned. His quirk was used by the villian I mentioned as well. It... brought everyone there without a problem… and..."

Her breath hitched and she couldn't get the words out, couldn't even form them.

=Hitoshi's screams of horror mixed with the creature's terrible screech as the people fell one by one, dead=

Todoroki put a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of it.

"I'll walk you to your room. I apologize for asking." He said quietly. Star nodded, following him up the stairs.

She fell onto her bed and tried not to think about the incident, she really did. But even as her head hit the pillow and her eyes closed, she was unable to ignore the creature's screeches still ringing in her ears.