Since last chapter, Torchbearer has passed 3,000 Favorites and, I'm not exactly sure when, but it also passed 1 MILLION VIEWS. This isn't generally a number I pay attention to, since it doesn't give much of an indication as to how many readers I actually have, but a number like that warrants a mention, I think.

Review time:

Brightwizard21, The Incredible Muffin, D3lph0xL0v3r, dragonightmare, Animeguy1101, The Keeper of Worlds, Constipated Genius, Batmarcus, The 0bservanc3, Dragon Man 180, Renegade Remade: I'm glad to see that people are liking Flashfire and can see it's usefulness/potential. It really does open up a lot of opportunities for Izuku.

AdrianVnz, ProjectIceman, The 0bservanc3: Regarding my feelings on the direction OFA is taking in canon: I agree that it makes sense from a narrative standpoint. There were definitely hints dropped throughout the story that led to this. My issue is that it's completely busted from a balancing standpoint. Izuku was already way more powerful than any kid his age had any right to be, but at least he earned that. He's the MC of a Shonen story, so he gets a certain amount of license. Fine. But this shit is getting into endgame Naruto territory at this point and, in my opinion, that's not how power progression should be handled.

I like canon MHA for what it is, but since I have the opportunity to try and handle things the way I'd like to see them handled, I'm gonna take a stab at it.

Brightwizard21: It might be possible to alter the shape of Reflect Fire, but it's likely not something Izuku can do by himself. It would probably require a team attack of some kind with someone else funneling the blast.

Animeguy1101: Izuku could possibly mimic a crude version of Recipro Burst, but it would be extremely inefficient since he doesn't have any natural exhaust pipes to funnel the energy through. I may include elements from the OVAs, but they most likely won't be covered in full. Izuku did tell All Might about Hosu, but I had it happen offscreen since it wouldn't really add any thing new.

The 0bservanc3: It's not so much teenage invincibility syndrome as it is Izuku not being able to wrap his head around the idea that All Might could actually lose. Ever. He also doesn't think he's going to have to face All For One for quite some time yet and, in spite of what All Might's told him, he doesn't really have an understanding of exactly how terrifying the Supervillain is.

I don't think Ochako would be able to use her Quirk on an object as large as something like a space shuttle, especially not at any significant distance (mass and distance both affect her Quirk). If these became non-factors, then I don't see why not, though gravity is also taken into account when calculating launch vectors for spacecraft, so it might have some other unintended side-effects. I would imagine infrastructure maintenance/repair is a very big business in the world of MHA, yes.

I never actually considered what happens to Sero's tape once he's done with it. If it shares the same makeup as regular cellophane (as his Hero Name suggests), then it would biodegrade after some time (10 days to 1 month if buried), but there would probably be some cleanup required, yes. We'll say he got off on a technicality for grading purposes since he didn't "damage" anything.

Hello there: No worries at all; I appreciate the alternate numbers you gave me and I definitely don't expect everyone to agree with mine. I did what I did for the sake of consistency and ease-of-use, but it's almost definitely not correct.

Guest: Surprisingly, the effects of extremely hot/unique fire on Torchbearer have not been explored yet. They will be though!

Renegade Remade: Endeavor has a series of moves that fall under the label of Flashfire Fist, all of which involve him concentrating his flames for extra power. Izuku's costume is actually quite visually distinct from Endeavor's apart from the color scheme. The banner over at Fires of Creation has a visual representation, but if you imagine a palette-swapped Costume Beta you'll have a decent idea.

no_1f4n: It's great to hear that you've been inspired by this! Good luck!

FF-loverHP1, iron-slayer-dragon, Blaze1992, SolarxBlack, TheAwesomeIsBlinding, NazgulBelserion, Hoho, Guest 2, blackpan26, Amaleea, Kuman, MattyNoire and everyone else: Thank you and I hope that you continue to enjoy!

Now, it looks like Izuku is asking Shoto for something.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Gratitude

"Are you sure you want me to be part of this?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but I was hoping to get something from everyone in 1-A if I could."

Shoto Todoroki considered the video camera strapped to the enthusiastic Midoriya's hand. He had indeed seen him approaching members of class 1-A throughout the day and recording them, but he hadn't paid too much attention. As it turned out, that day was All Might's birthday and Midoriya was recording birthday greetings from his classmates with the intent of presenting them to the Number One Hero later in the day.

"I know he doesn't want a fuss, but it's a big milestone for him. He's turning fifty, after all." Midoriya continued, "I just…I wanted to do something for him, you know? He's been such a big part of my life even before he started teaching at U.A. and I know I'm not the only one he's had an impact on, especially among those of us who want to be Heroes."

"What should I say?"

"Anything you want. I want it to be genuine, so I won't be editing it at all. If you need a prompt, then how about this: 'How has All Might impacted your life and how do you feel about him?'"

Shoto took a few moments to get his thoughts in order before nodding to Midoriya, whereupon he received a three-finger countdown to signal the start of the recording.

"I have mixed feelings when it comes to All Might. I've always admired him as a Hero, but at the same time he's been presented to me as a target almost since I could walk. There were times when I resented him because of the hardships I was put through for the purpose of overcoming him. It wasn't something I ever asked for and I don't know if I'd do it all again."

To Midoriya's credit, he held the camera steady and didn't interrupt, though judging from his expression this was going very differently than he'd hoped. Still, he'd asked for honesty and that was what he'd get.

"Those were my feelings for most of my life until I started attending U.A., where I met All Might for myself. Since then I've gotten a better sense of what type of person he is and even experienced some of what he must have over the years. All else aside, I can say with certainty that I have nothing but respect for both the man and the Hero. I'm still going to surpass him one day, but now it's going to be because I want to, not because I have to."

He nodded to Midoriya, who cut the recording.

"Sorry if that wasn't what you were looking for."

"No! No. I wasn't sure where you were going with it at first, but it's clear those were your true feelings. I'm sure he'll appreciate them. It's clear that you feel gratitude towards him, even if you don't express it in the same way. Heck, I hope Kacchan's recording is as civil as yours and not just a rant about how he's going to be the best. Good thing I'm going after him, I suppose." he smiled at Shoto and made his way over to a small cluster of other students.

Gratitude, huh? I guess I do feel grateful. Maybe I could have said it better?

Shoto mulled over his impromptu speech, considering his words.

No, he eventually decided, his words had matched his intent. He didn't feel the same way about All Might as most people did and with good reason. His gratitude would never be as pure and simple as theirs was, so it made sense that the words he used to express it wouldn't be either. It would feel…disingenuous. The thank-you should match the feelings associated with it.

Still, it made him think…

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

"Are you free on Sunday?"

It was a good thing that Tooru Hagakure hadn't been in the middle of eating or drinking something, else she was pretty sure she would've choked. As it was, she still found herself unable to respond to Todo's sudden question.

It was the whole situation, really: He had walked on over to where she was eating lunch with Mina, Tsuyu and Yaomomo, gotten her attention and then asked his question without preamble. The other girls weren't helping matters either, with Yaomomo looking on in interest, Tsuyu putting a finger to her cheek in that way she did when she was considering something and Mina giving an unabashed "Ooo~h."

"I understand if you've got something else going on." Todo said as she gaped at him, "It's short notice, after all."

"No!" she responded quickly, "I'm free for most of the afternoon; my parents just want me back home for dinner."

"Lunch, then?"

"S-sure. Where should we meet up?"

"Same place as last time?"

"That works for me."

"Good. We can figure out the timing later. I'll text you." he then shifted his gaze to the other girls and inclined his head, "Sorry for the interruption."

"Well, that was certainly bold." Yaomomo observed as Todo walked away.

"I guess that ice extends to his nerves as well, ribbit."

"Forget that!" Mina turned to Tooru with a wide grin, "What's this I'm hearing about a 'last time?'"

If it wasn't so out-of-character for Todo to do something like that on purpose, Tooru would've been mad at him for giving Mina that sort of ammunition. She was going to hear about this all week…

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

June 16th arrived in record time that year and Tooru wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, it meant that she didn't feel like she was waiting as long for Sunday to arrive. On the other hand, it also meant that she didn't have as much time as she thought she would to mentally prepare herself for her date with Todo.

That is what this is, right? Tooru thought to herself as she tried to decide between the two tank tops she had narrowed her choices down to (it was going to be a hot day and she didn't want to constantly pester Todo to cool her off).

We've done this before. Why am I so nervous? Is it because last time was all spur-of-the-moment and this time he actually came up and asked me? Am I feeling pressured?

She shook her head at the thought. Of all the things she should have been feeling, pressured was definitely not one of them. Todo wasn't the type to try something like that. He had been totally prepared for her to tell him "no" and, if she had, that would have been that.

Not that she had wanted to say "no" of course; the thought had never once crossed her mind. She had more or less dragged him along with her before and part of her had wondered if he had actually enjoyed himself or just gone along for the sake of it. The fact that he had come up to her and asked her out all by himself was doing wonders for her conscience. She hadn't been wrong about everything until then.

Still, talk about timing. Does he know…nah. Has to be a coincidence. Not that it makes me any less happy about this! No sir!

That was right. It didn't matter if he didn't know. Heck, it might actually be more fun if he didn't; she could hit him with it right at the end and see how he reacted! Catching Todo off-guard was a tall order, but it was always worth it to see that look on his face.

"Alright, looking good!" she decided as she gave herself a final once-over in the mirror, "I'll be a bit early if I leave now, but that's better than being late."

"Ah, Tooru!" her dad called out as she made her way downstairs, "Before you head out, could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure." she changed course and entered the small office he liked to use, "What's up?" she asked as he finished typing something for work at his desk and swiveled his chair to look at her properly.

"You're really excited about this guy, huh?" he smiled, "Don't bother trying to wave it off; I can tell. I didn't call you in here just to poke fun at you. That can come later." he winked.

Tooru crossed her arms and gave her dad a long-suffering look that made his smile widen even though he couldn't see it.

"You want things to work out with this guy, don't you?" his expression became serious, "Be honest."

"Yeah. I really like him. I feel like he sees me like you and Mom do."

"So you've said." her dad nodded, "It's obvious that he's not your average Joe. Even your dear old dad has to admit that much. I still want you to promise me one thing though."

"What?"

"Don't force it. He sounds better than any of the other boys you've liked over the years, but that doesn't automatically mean he's the one."

"Dad, I'm not-"

"I just need to know that you don't have your heart set on him just because you see something you like. If it's meant to happen, then it will. If it's not, then I need you to promise me that you won't try and steamroll through it anyway just because you're afraid you won't find someone else like him down the road."

"I promise." Tooru gave him a quick hug, "For the record though, even if it doesn't work out, the odds of me finding someone else just like him are…slim."

"You know if this goes on too much longer then your mom's going to want to meet him."

"You don't?"

"Having been where he is, I'm content to wait until he's ready. As long as he doesn't wait too long." he chuckled and turned back to his work, "Have fun, kid. And remember: home by seven. I still have a hard time believing this timing is coincidental."

"I know, Dad." she waved back at him as she walked out the door.

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

"Hello."

"Hey, Todo. Just wanted to let you know I'm a bit early. I can head over to where you are if you're in the area?"

"That won't be necessary."

"You sure? I don't mind."

"Not what I meant." the voice from the phone gradually became overlaid with a distinctly non-digital version coming from Tooru's left. She turned to see Todo putting his phone back in his pocket, "Morning."

"Good morning. Guess you were running early too, huh?"

"It's a habit."

"So…what's the plan? Or are we just freestyling it?"

"We still have a couple hours before lunch, so I thought we'd do some walking around. Unless there was something specific you wanted to do?"

"Honestly? I'm just stoked you actually wanted to hang out. I pretty much just dragged you around last time."

"I didn't hate it. If there's anything that comes to mind, let me know."

With that, they set off with Todo taking the lead. Their pace was leisurely, but the decisive way Todo made his turns told Tooru that he had a specific destination in mind. She was so focused on trying to figure out what it might be that she nearly collided with him when he stopped and turned to face a particular shop.

"Wanna go in?"

"Todo, are you sure?"

"If you want to."

Out of all the places that Tooru had taken him before, she had chosen the She Shanty specifically to try and embarrass Todo a bit. While the store, which specialized in swimwear and other seaside items, hadn't gotten as much of a reaction out of him as she had hoped, he had clearly wanted to be gone from there.

Especially once she had started wondering aloud whether she should take the opportunity to try on some swimsuits and get his opinion. Frankly, it had been hilarious and she had been giggling like an idiot for nearly a half hour afterwards.

Which made it very strange that, out of all the places they could've gone, this was what he started with.

Is he trying to get back at me by catching me off-guard with this? If that's the game he wants to play…

"Sure! Maybe I could use a new swimsuit? It's starting to heat up, after all. But you have to help me pick!"

"Okay."

One of the benefits of being invisible was that nobody gave you funny looks for staring slack-jawed at the guy who just called the hell out of your bluff without blinking.

…Guess I'm getting a swimsuit then. I could probably use one. Don't think you've won just yet though, Todo! I've still got an ace up my sleeve!

"Great! We should get you one too while we're here. Something tells me you're not the type to have one handy."

"Handy for what?"

"…Swimming. Like at the beach."

"Not something I usually do."

"We're going to have to fix that at some point. Don't worry, I'm not going to try and get you into a speedo or something."

"…Fine."

"Look, tell you what: We'll each pick a few options and we'll try them on at the same time. I won't force you to spend too long in here since you're being such a good sport."

The initial selection of options took a bit longer than Tooru had anticipated, since she had to convince Todo to pick something that wasn't just a solid color.

"At least pick something with trim or a simple design!" she argued, "I'm not saying you need to go Hawaiian or tie die but you're not a little kid anymore!"

After another couple minutes of this, wherein Tooru agreed to let him pick one single-color pair of swim trunks, it was time to hit the changing rooms.

"You know, I always have a hard time deciding between a one-piece and a two-piece." she told him through the divider, "For really hot days, a two-piece is more comfortable, but it also makes it harder for people to see me since there's less material."

"Accessorize it then. Wear bracelets or a hat or something."

"That's all well and good for walking around or sunning myself, but what about swimming?"

"Swim cap or goggles?"

"See, it was already a good idea bringing you in here and we're just getting to the good part." Tooru adjusted her first swimsuit in the mirror to make sure it was sitting properly before she strutted confidently out of her booth, "What do you think of this one, To…do…"

The suit was nice. He had decided to try on the white one with the black wave design running over the left leg first. What stopped Tooru in her tracks was the fact that he had also decided to try it on as he would normally wear it. That is to say, without a shirt.

Tooru had known that he was well-built; that was practically the norm when it came to Hero Course students, boys and girls both. Even so, there was something about actually seeing it for once that caught her by surprise.

He wasn't bulky like some of her other classmates were. Even Midoriya probably had more overall mass on him than Todo did. What he did have though, in spades, was definition. "Chiseled" would certainly have been an appropriate descriptor.

If he told me to go home right now, I could leave satisfied.

"Hagakure?"

"Ah, yes?"

"I was saying that one looks nice. It was a good idea to go with one that's more about emphasis on form than just showing off skin."

"Oh! Yes! Thank you!"

Get a grip, Tooru!

"I like yours too, Todo. It abs, er, absolutely fits with your natural two-tone look! Definitely a good pec- pick!"

"That was why I picked it, actually. You were talking about emphasizing natural characteristics."

I meant body shape and I was debating between trying one with netting or not but you don't need to know that!

"Glad I could help. Next up!"

They each tried on two more swimsuits before selecting the very first ones they tried on. Him with his black-on-white design and her with a one-shoulder tube top and boyshorts. Afterwards, they made their way to two more stores that she had taken him to last time before stopping for lunch.

As they ate, Tooru puzzled over how accommodating Todo was being. Not that he was usually confrontational or anything, but that day especially it seemed like he was going out of his way to make sure that they were going places that she liked. He had also asked her no less than three times if there was anything she wanted to do or anywhere specific she wanted to go. It wasn't as though she disliked it, quite the opposite, but it was still a little weird.

What finally made her decide that she really wanted to ask him what was up, however, was when she was thinking she wanted to hold his hand and he had offered his left without her saying anything while they were on their way to the third store.

"Hey, Todo?" she said after they finished their lunch, "There's a small park nearby. Can we go there for a bit?"

"Sure."

They walked in silence for the most part, Tooru trying to decide how she wanted to approach this conversation. As they found a bench and sat down, she decided to just go for it.

"What made you decide to go to those particular stores, Todo?"

"It seemed like you liked them before." he shrugged, "I don't know this area particularly well, so I figured I'd go with your preference."

"Even though the first one we went to was the one you hated the most last time?"

"It worked out in the end."

"And why did you decide to offer me your hand all of a sudden?"

"It looked like you wanted me to. You kept glancing at it."

"Okay, I know you're really observant, but that's beyond normal for you. Why does it seem like you're trying so hard today? If I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to be perfect."

"I mean…it's your birthday, right?"

Tooru's heart skipped a beat. He had known. He'd known the whole time.

Apparently taking her silence as a request for a greater explanation, Todo shifted so he could look at her more comfortably.

"That night, right after Hosu? It was bad. Bad enough that I didn't go home. I stayed at Endeavor's agency and…well, the point is I had a talk with someone who's known me for a while. A while as in 'used to babysit me when nobody else was available.'"

Tooru listened intently. Todo hadn't said a single word about what had actually happened after the Hosu incident had concluded to anyone as far as she knew, let alone her.

"People who've known you for that long…they have a tendency to be annoyingly insightful. They can tell when something's different, you know? Then there was what Midoriya did for All Might on Monday, talking about how grateful he and everyone else is and how it made him want to do something special for him. It's not as though I'm not grateful to All Might, but I couldn't really relate with how much it seemed to mean to some of our classmates."

"So, I started thinking. I asked myself if there was anyone I felt that sort of gratitude towards. Anyone that a simple 'thank you' wouldn't be enough for. If someone had asked me that not even a couple of months ago, the answer might've been 'no,' but that's not the case anymore."

Tooru found herself reaching for his hand, holding it in both of hers as his mismatched eyes bored into her unseen ones.

"I wanted to do something. I knew it had to be on your birthday, but I didn't really know what else to do. I've never been good at this sort of thing, so all I could think of was taking you to the places you seemed to like before. I've been trying to figure out what I should say to you this whole time, but nothing sounds right in my head. I tried to hide it, but since you've caught on, I guess I have to go with my gut here."

"You don't have to say anything." Tooru pointed out.

"I want to."

Was it just her, or was he sitting a bit closer than before?

"Sorry if this comes out wrong, but, thank you…"

His eyes filled her field of vision as a cool finger gently tilted her chin slightly upwards.

"…and Happy Birthday."

His lips met hers hesitantly, feeling as though he were second-guessing himself. Like he was afraid he had done something wrong and was ready to recoil. As surprised as she was, Tooru wasn't about to let him think that. She reciprocated, drawing the kiss out for a couple more seconds before breaking away. After a few moments of staring at him in silence, she began to giggle uncontrollably.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No! No it's not that." she assured him, "I was just thinking: What if you missed? Would that ruin the moment or make it even better?"

"That was part of the reason why I hesitated." he admitted, "I've never done that before, let alone with someone invisible."

"I got your first kiss?"

"Yes."

"…I think I felt a disturbance in the Force."

"You're exaggerating."

"You're not know as 'the hottest guy in 1-A' for nothing."

"A third of my face is disfigured."

"Believe me: They don't care." she snuggled into his side and rested her head on his shoulder, "Neither do I, just for the record."

"I could tell if the way you were eyeing me up in the She Shack was any indication. I started to wonder if you traded Quirks with Ashido."

"Hey, you spring something like that on any of the girls and they'll at least look twice. The nice thing about eye candy is there's plenty for everyone." Tooru wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed at having been found out, "Speaking of Mina though: I doubt I'll be able to keep this completely under wraps around her. As soon as she catches the slightest hint that something's up, she won't rest until she finds out what it is. As it stands, I'm shocked that she still hasn't figured out Ochako and Midoriya."

"…What?"

"Oh yeah. They're keeping it on the down-low, but there's been something going on there since the beginning of May, mark my words."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's the little things. The way they stare at each other when they don't think anyone else is looking, how they always find a way to spend at least a couple minutes together between classes, how quick they are to support each other when there's an argument, the way Midoriya can't keep his eyes off her whenever she's in-costume…though I guess he's not the only one guilty of that."

"…I have to admit, I'm impressed."

"People know when Mina's looking, but not so much when I am. Apart from you, that is."

"With how much time you spend watching everyone even though you sit in the front row, I have to wonder how you'll do on the exams in a couple weeks. Weren't you about the same as Kaminari and Aoyama?"

"Hey, I'll have you know Kaminari's number twenty. I'm number sixteen."

"Out of twenty."

"I just need to stay the course."

"What you need to do is study."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get on it, promise. Oh, and Todo?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. For telling me how you feel, I mean. I knew you appreciated what I did…most of the time, but I didn't realize how much. It makes me happy. As far as birthdays go, this one's definitely up there." she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and stood up, pulling him with her, "Now come on! I've still got you to myself for a few more hours and I intend to make the most of it! Now that I know you know it's my birthday, I can stop holding back!"

This was one of the few times in recent memory where I knew exactly where the next chapter was going, thanks in no small part to the review section. My issue, much like Shoto, was trying to do it right. Half of my notes for this chapter pertained to his speech. I was originally going to show Izuku giving All Might his present, but it didn't fit the flow so I scrapped it. Besides, I think everyone knows how that went anyway.

The events that Shoto is referencing regarding the night he spent at Endeavor's agency are shown in greater detail in the Pat_reon-exclusive piece, Notice-Me-Not, which is available to all patrons along with other pieces (KiriMina fans in particular will enjoy Three-Count) and an ongoing original story. You can easily find the page by googling "Fires of Creation Pat_reon" with the underscore removed.

Special thanks to Animeguy1101, The 0bservanc3, Hoot, Fallenasgardian, Hyper, RoTWS and all of my other patrons who are already supporting my work there.

Next time, exams are rapidly approaching and the students need to get some studying done! It's time to get back in the canon swing of things.

And as always, thank you for reading!