vessel of time › todoroki shoto

Chapter 1: The Beginning

  Soon after that incident, I awoke in a hospital bed to my Aunt. She had heard about my injury that almost would have killed me if I didn't receive help on time and also about Arata. She told me about her plans for me to move to her house and enrol in a new school nearby instead, where she and her husband would care for me. Of course, I immediately agreed. Throughout my stay in the hospital, I never saw Arata, he did not visit me, he did not call me, he did not text me, nothing. As soon as I was discharged, my Aunt had already packed my things for me and off I went to my new home. Since then, I never saw him again.

Start of Chapter 1: The Beginning

3 years later, 15 years old

  I was out for a walk. With each stride, my mind became more clear,  more resolute. The nascent sunlight caressed my skin, promising a new dawn, a new beginning, I entombed my memories of him in thick walled ice. Then, abruptly pausing to close my eyes and take in a deep breath of the fresh morning air, I steeled myself to only think of my future from now on. A future I would mould, build and direct. Then, with each stride after that, I felt more in charge, in command of my own mind, body and soul. 

  As I was about to cross the road, I saw a ball rolling onto the middle of it. All of a sudden, I saw a young girl running after it, she ran onto the road and was about to pick up the ball. However, I could not react on time to save her. Right in front of my very eyes, I saw the body of the little girl hitting the hood of the oncoming car. Her torso and head smashed up against the windshield. Soon, she was flying through the air, her broken body fell onto the rough ground of the road, motionless. Paralysed in fear, my terrorised feet refused to move. 

  I immediately took the penknife out of my pocket. The same penknife I had brought along with me since grade school. The same penknife that I had stabbed myself with on that day. I rolled my sleeves up, pushed the blade out and sunk it into the flesh in my arm, watching as the blood started flowing and as the pain started pulsating. Looking at the amount of blood that I have bled, the most I could rewind time would be about two minutes. I closed my eyes and focused. Along the years, I had trained myself to improve my concentration level, giving a higher success rate at using my quirk. And I've been putting it to good use. I knew that because as soon as I closed my eyes, I already felt so in charge of time. I opened my eyes, watching the whole accident unfolding again but in reverse order. It was working. I saw the ball rolling back to the girl, and so I stopped right there.

  As soon as the time resumed, I ran towards the girl. She had dropped her ball and it was rolling towards where her death would be. I quickly ran after it, picking it up before it went onto the busy road. She stopped in front of me, looking at me with her big, luminous eyes. I smiled at her and kneeled down, giving her the ball back. "Don't play too close to dangerous roads like this alright?" I told her nicely. She nodded and followed my advice, running off into the distance, towards the park where I had come from before. I stood up, looking at my now bleeding arm. Although the pain was still there, it begun to feel numb. I continued my way back home, feeling relieved that I had saved a life. 

  I unlocked the door and came in, locking it behind me. "Welcome ba- WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM?!" My aunt abruptly screamed. 

  "I came across a girl who got hit by a car so I used my quirk to save her.." I said, a bit startled at her sudden outburst.

  "I'll go get the first aid kit!!" She got up from the sofa and ran as if she was competing in a marathon. All I could do was smile. After all these years, I finally had a family. She returned and treated my wound, bandaging it up neatly.

  "Thanks Aunt," I uttered.

  "I'm so proud you saved someone's life today," she said as she beamed at me. "I also have another good piece of news to tell you today!"

  "What is it?"

  "...You were accepted into UA High School through recommendations!!" She quickly got hold of the letter that stated that and jumped up and down.

  There was a slight moment where my face washed blank with confusion, like my brain cogs couldn't turn fast enough to take in the information she had told me. Every muscle in my body just froze before a grin crept onto my face, it soon stretched from one side to the other, showing every single one of my tooth. "REALLY?!" I shouted in response.

  "YES!!" She yelled back and pulled me into a hug. She patted my back. "(Y/N), I'm so proud of you and your mother must be too."

  In that moment, our arms squeezed a fraction tighter and I breathed more slowly, my body melting into my Aunt's as every muscle lost its tension to the spring air. This was love, real love.