Coming to a stop at the entrance of the cafeteria, you took a minute to regain your breath.
You had ran all the way from the stadium to the school's cafeteria - which was about a 15-20 minute walk - and knocked it down in five minutes, leaving you a little tired.
Lifting your head, you glanced around the cafeteria. Looking for a specific blondie. Though, you couldn't seem to spot her anywhere.
Though, much to your luck, she had spotted you.
Waving her hand high in the air, the blonde made it obvious where she was as she called out to you."Hey, Y/N! Over here."
Glancing around a little more, you perked up upon seeing the blonde waving to you from one of the crowded lines.
Taking in a small breath, you got out of your slightly-crouched position. Jogging over to the blonde, you slowed to a stop just a few steps away. Apologizing as you pushed through several people to get to the blonde.
"Hey."
"Hey," She smiled, raising a curious brow moments later. "where did you go exactly?"
Swallowing the small lump in your throat, you averted your gaze to the tiled floor beneath you, your hands resting on your hips. "Could you not question me immediately? I sprinted all the way here from the stadium."
Confused, the blonde shot you a questioning look. "Why?"
"Because if I wasn't here on time like I said, you would've blew up my phone and kicked my ass."
Pursing her lips, Himari glanced up at the ceiling for a brief moment before returning her gaze to you. "Good point."
Seeming remembering something, her eyes widened for a split second as she looked at you. "Oh yeah, that reminds me."
"You're late."
Scoffing, you glanced up at her, a sarcastic smile came to your face as your voice came out breathless. "Shut up."
Rolling her eyes, Himari glanced down at your slightly crouched figure. "Where did you go anyway?"
Lifting your head, you looked her directly in the eyes. Shaking your head slowly, a serious look came to your face.
Understanding immediately, a quiet, "Ohhh" left Himari, the blonde nodding her head a little.
Glancing at the line, an awkward laugh escaped her upon realising the lunch lady had been patiently waiting for you two to hurry up and get your food.
Sweatdropping, Himari grabbed your wrist, forcefully dragging you to get your food. You nearly tripping in the process from the unexpected force.
Passing you a tray, the two of you grabbed whatever you wanted (with a limit, of course) as you talked about the next game.
It wasn't really a proper conversation. More of a filler so you wouldn't look suspicious around the crapton of people around you. But, you didn't really care much.
Grabbing an apple from the different varieties of fruits, Himari glanced at you. "So, what do you think we'll be doing for the next game?"
Confused, you raised a questioning brow at the blonde. "What do you mean? We're doing one-on-one battles, remember? Or did your dumbass forget."
Rolling her eyes, she shot you a small, subtle glare. "No, I know we're doing one-on-one battles. But, they change it up every year. Some years it's like...a throwing contest."
"Like what we did on the first day of school?"
Nodding, the blonde picked up a random drink - not really having a preference - before handing the lady the money for the two of you. "Yeah, kinda. They change it up every year."
Hearing this, your brows furrowed. Silently hoping what you were about to ask wasn't right. "So you're telling me there's a chance I won't get the satisfaction of kicking someone's ass?"
Biting the inside of her lip, an unsure look came to her face as you two set off to go find a table. "...Yes?"
Huffing in mild annoyance, a sarcastic grin came to your face as you glanced up at the ceiling. "Y'know now I'm not so sure I wanna participate. Maybe I'll just throw."
Snapping her head in your direction, Himari shot you a pointed look. "You are not throwing. Just remember why you're trying as hard as you are in the first place."
Biting the inside of your lip, you thought for a brief moment. A sad yet irritated look coming to your face once you quickly realised.
'Mom...'
Brows furrowing, a scowl came to your face as you averted your gaze to the ground beneath you. "...I despise you."
Raising her eyebrows, an amused smirk came to her face as she glanced at you through her peripheral vision.
"You know you love me."
"Fuck you." You grumbled out, both irritated and mildly annoyed.
Seeing this as an opportunity, a teasing smirk came to Himari's face. Saying her next words as if they were completely normal. "Save it until after the festival, Y/N."
Hearing the blonde, a quiet, surprised grunt escaped you. Snapping your head towards her, your nose scrunched. "You have issues.
With an 'offended' look quickly coming to her face, an exaggerated gasp of disbelief left her. "Well I think I'm perfectly normal thank you very much!"
Scoffing, you rolled your eyes. "Oh please, nobody's normal. Not in this world, anyway."
Shrugging, her lips thinned. Just as she was about to say something, the two of you heard family voices from a table not too far away.
"Himari, Y/N!"
Turning your heads to look in the direction, both your eyes widened slightly upon seeing your families sat at a table, eating some lunch.
Well, the kids were. The parents not so much.
With a wide grin coming to her face, Himari grabbed your wrist, dragging you towards them. "Mom, dad! Hey!"
Once you two had gotten to the table, Himari's mothet spoke up. Greeting her daughter and you.
"Hello girls."
Raising a questioning brow, the cheerful look on her face never wavered. "What are you doing here? I didn't think you had the free time."
"Oh well, we managed to get today off. After all, we didn't want to miss the chance to see our little girl finally live her childhood dream."
Rolling her eyes, Himari whined at her parents. "Mom, I'm not a little girl anymore!"
"I know sweetheart, but you'll always be my little girl either way."
Smiling at the mother-daughter interaction between the two, you left them to chat about whatever. Deciding you'd talk to your family, who, was sat just opposite them on the same table.
Giving your family a soft smile, you gave them a small wave. "Hi dad, auntie, Yuya."
"Hey pumpkin."
"Y/N!" Hearing Yuya call your name, you averted your attention away from your dad for a brief moment. "That thing you did in the obstacle race was awesome! You've gotta teach me sometime!"
Chuckling, you shook your head. "When your older, bud."
Pouting, he tried pulling the puppy dog eyes trick. "Really? Can't we do it now?"
Shaking your head, you gave him a soft smile. "Unfortunately, we can't. But, if you're a good boy and eat all your vegetables when auntie makes dinner, it'll help you grow up faster."
Not believing you, the boy averted his gaze away from you. Huffing in slight annoyance. "Liar! That's not true!"
Shrugging, you shot the small boy a knowing look. "You don't have to believe me. But don't you ever wonder why I'm as strong as I am?"
Seeing him glance at you through his peripheral vision, you mentally smirked upon getting his attention back. "It's because when I was little, I always ate my fruits and vegetables. If you don't believe me, just ask dad."
Hesitantly, he shifted his gaze away from you and towards your dad. Silently asking if this was true.
Nodding, your father confirmed your lie. Though, Yuya didn't need to know it was a lie. "Y/N's right, Yuya. She was always a good girl and cleared her plates."
Still a little suspicious, the small boy raised a questioning brow. "Even the gross vegetables?"
Chuckling, you nodded. "Even the 'gross' vegetables."
Huffing, the pout on his face slowly subsided. The small boy reluctantly agreeing. "Fine. I'll eat them from now on. But," Pointing a finger at you, he raised his voice a little. "you have to keep your promise!"
Seeing him holding out his pinkie finger, you placed your tray on the table. Walking the few steps over to him, you crouched down to his height.
Locking your pinkie finger with his, you gave him a soft smile. "I promise."
Seeing a grin quickly return to his face, you watched as he went back to drinking his orange juice. The small boy wanting to finish off his food so he'd have more time to talk to you.
Standing beside your tray, you broke your chopsticks in half. Taking a bite of your Soba, a small, pleased grin came to your face upon realising it hadn't gone cold.
Just as you were about to take another bite, you felt a tap on your shoulder. Mentally cursing whoever it was, you let the small portion fall back onto the wooden plate.
Turning around, you grew confused upon seeing Mina behind you. And apparently, Himari had noticed her too.
Grinning, she gave the pink-skinned girl a small wave. "Hey Mina! Need something?"
"Yeah." Nodding, the cheerful smile on her face stayed even as she noticed your families. "Apparently Mr. Aizawa needs us to be cheerleaders for a little until the next game."
Hearing this, the blonde's eyes lit up, brimming with excitement. "No way, really?!"
"Yep!"
Not needing to hear anymore, Himari immediately got out of her seat and walked over to her. Completely forgetting about her food and the tray as a whole, she stood beside Mina.
Suspicious, you raised a questioning brow at her. "And who told you this exactly?"
"Yaomomo and Jirou. Apparently they heard it from Kaminari and Mineta."
"I'm not going."
Hearing you, Himari immediately grew upset. "Aw! Come on, Y/N! Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"Pleeeaaasseee?"
"No."
"Pretty please with a sunflower on top?"
"Oh my god, fine!"
Grinning, both Himari and Mina raised their fists in the air. Pleased with their easy victory over you.
"Yes!"
Not wasting anymore time, Himari grabbed your wrist, waving bye to the both of your families.
"See you later!"
Being dragged by the blonde, you mouthed 'Help' to your aunt. Though, she only laughed at the two of you.
Huffing, one thought crossed your mind as she dragged you to the girls changing room.
'My food...'
~~~
"Now that lunch is over, it's finally time to reveal the last game! But before that, there's good news for all of you who didn't make it to the finals!"
"This is just a sports festival! So we've prepared recreational games that everyone can participate in, too!"
"We've even brought in real cheerleaders from America to liven things up!"
'They what?'
Hearing Present Mic go quiet, Aizawa spoke up. His tone made it obvious that he was confused. "What are they doing?"
Going along with whatever the hell was happening, Present Mic yelled at the eight of you. "What's the matter, Class A? What kind of fan service is that?"
Hearing Present Mic, your eye twitched in pure frustration. Gritting your teeth, you shot a pointed glare at the walking eardrum destroyer.
"Mineta! Kaminari! You tricked us, didn't you?!" Yaoyorozu yelled at the two, clearly agitated.
Throwing your pom-poms on the ground, you kicked them away from you. Grumbling out small curses as you spoke. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"Aw come on, Y/N! We may have gotten tricked - and I'm definitely getting payback later - but that doesn't mean we can't still have fun!"
Not a second later, Himari did a cartwheel, followed by a few flips. Landing flawlessly, of course. Thank god she was wearing shorts under her skirt.
Scoffing, you rolled your eyes. "Says the girl who used to be a cheerleader and gymnast for several years."
Shrugging, she pursed her lips. A smug grin coming to her face. "What can I say? It comes naturally."
"Well, you've definitely got the skill, I'll give you that." You grumbled out. Still irritated.
"Come on girls, there's still time before the finals." Hagakure spoke up, waving her pom-poms around. "I say we do it!"
Eyeing the two, your voice came out irritated. Which, made sense. You were extremely irritated and were going to kill them both when you got the chance. "You're both crazy."
"Toru, Chinatsu, you like this, huh?" Tsuyu questioned the two. Sounding unbothered as hell.
Hearing the crowd burst out in cheers again, you rolled your eyes. Present Mic's loud-ass voice taking over the entire arena. "All right, everyone! Let's have fun competing in the recreational games!"
Hearing a small ding, you looked over to the podium Ms. Midnight usually stood at. Seeing the hologram had reappeared.
Assuming this was about the next game, you grabbed the back of Himari's shirt. Interrupting her cheerleading fiesta as you dragged her towards the hologram. Where most of your class was already.
"When that's over, the eighteen from the four teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style, one-on-one!"
'Aw hell yeah. This shit's about to get good.'
"I am happy, I am pleased, I can die in peace."
Hearing your words, an amused snicker escaped the blonde. "Y'know, any sane person would be concerned with how happy violence makes you."
Shrugging, you made sure to pay attention. Not wanting to miss any information about kicking people's asses. "That sounds like their problem."
"Now, let's draw lots to determine the bracket." Ms. Midnight spoke, holding a yellow box.
"Once the bracket is determined, we'll have the recreational games and then start!"
"The eighteen finalists can choose whether or not they want to participate in the recreation. I'm sure some of you want to rest or save your strength."
"Now, from the first place team-" Beginning to walk off the stage, Ms. Midnight stopped not even a second later upon being interrupted.
"Um...! Excuse me." Raising his hand, Ojiro interrupted her. Unintentionally gaining everyone's attention in the process. "I'm withdrawing."
Hearing this, everyone immediately grew confused. Audible gasps being heard from a few of the contestants around.
"Ojiro, why?"
"This is a rare chance for pros to see you!"
Lowering his hand, he averted his gaze to the ground beneath him. "I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until almost the end. I think it was that guy's Quirk."
Leaning close to your face, Himari lowered her voice. "Ojiro...who was he with again?"
'That purple-haired menace."
"Mineta?" She questioned, sounding unsure.
Shaking your head, you subtly motioned to your far left. "No, the one from general studies."
Nodding her head, a quiet "Ah." left her.
"I know that this is a great chance and that it's foolish to waste it..."
"Ojiro..."
"But-" Surprising everyone with his harsh tone, Ojiro lowered his voice to a normal tone. Clenching his fist, he continued. "Everyone here competed by giving their all! I can't... I can't be up there with everyone without knowing what really happened."
Waving her pom-poms around in protest, Hagakure spoke up. "You're worrying too much about it! You should just make sure you produce results in the finals!"
"If you're gonna say that, I didn't do anything either." Mina spoke, a reassuring smile on her face.
Placing his hand on his face, Ojiro's voice was muffled slightly as he spoke. "That's not it..."
"I'm talking about my pride here... I can't..."
Not moving an inch, Ojiro asked the eight of you an unexpected question. Making the eight of you frown - or, in your and Jirou's case, scowl - whilst looking away.
"Also, why are you guys wearing cheerleader outfits?"
'Man this ain't no comedy show, get your ass outta here.'
"I'm Nirengeki Shoda from Class B." Walking up in front of his classmates, a short, chubby, grey-ish-haired boy spoke up. "I also want to withdraw for the same reason."
Clenching his fist, his nasel-sounding voice made him sound younger than he actually was. "Regardless of ability, don't you think it goes against the goal of this sports festival for those who didn't do anything to move onto the final round?"
"Man, talk about honour. Makes me feel like a dick for being handed my spot here." Himari whined, resting a hand on her neck.
Shrugging, you rested your hands on your hips. "It can't be helped."
With nobody saying so much as a word, an uncomfortable silence fell in the arena. That was, until, Midnight finally spoke up.
"Youthful talk like that is something..." Whacking her whip in the air, she yelled out with pride. "...I like! Shoda! Ojiro! I accept your withdrawal!"
"She decided based on her tastes...!"
"In that case, we'll have to move up two people from the fifth place cavalry battle team..."
"If that's what's going to happen, then rather than us, who barely did anything during the cavalry battle, it should be them, right?"
"Right."
"The ones who fought to the end and stayed in the top, Team TetsuTetsu, right?"
Hearing this, the boy with grey hair spoke up. "Kendo...!"
"This isn't collusion or anything. It just makes sense."
"Y-You guys...!" Squeezing his eyes shut, the grey-haired boy yelled out happily. Though, it sounded more like he was getting murdered.
'Dramatic much?'
After a few minutes of their team choosing who goes on, Midnight was able to continue.
"And so, TetsuTetsu and Shiozaki have moved up to make eighteen!"
"This is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!"
Keeping your eyes on the holographic screen, you watched as eighteen names total appeared.
"Ooh, I'm fighting Mina!" Himari cheered. Followed by Mina's own cheers of happiness.
'Kaminari...'
Pursing your lips, a sadistic grin came to your face as you thought about the match.
'Payback's gonna be a bitch.'
Seeing the look on your face, Himari mentally groaned. Already knowing what you were thinking about. "Y/N, no killing aloud, remember."
Huffing, you rolled your eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."
Hearing a squeal of fear, the two of you turned to see Uraraka with a nervous look on her face.
Confused, the two of you glanced at the board. Though, once you saw who she was fighting, you realised her concerns.
"Hey, Uraraka!" Running over to the brunette, Himari waved her hands happily. "If you don't wanna fight Bakugo, I'll happily switch with you!"
"No."
Raising a questioning brow, Himari spoke in a teasing voice. "What? Am I that scary? Or are you too chicken to fight a flower girl?"
Scoffing, the ash-blonde started yelling at her. "Yeah right, anyone who's scared of flowers needs to get a reality check!"
Exhaling tiredly, you left the two blondes to bicker with one another. Not really wanting to deal with that.
Shifting your gaze back to the board, you looked over the rest of the matches. Pausing once one - or two - caught your eye.
'Todoroki and Midoriya...'
'If both of them win their rounds, they'll be going against one another.'
'It's definitely a lot sooner than I would've expected.'
Biting the inside of your lip, you glanced around the field. Stopping once you saw the familiar red and white hair you were looking for.
'Might as well talk to him. I kinda wanna ask him something, anyway..'
Huffing, you quickly put on your cheerful persona before walking towards him.
Raising your hand high in the air, you waved it a little. Hoping to grasp his attention as you yelled. "Todoroki!"
Hearing that familiar voice call his name, he turned around to see you walking up to him.
"L/N."
"Hi!" You cheered happily. A big grin on your face."
"Hey."
Clasping your hands together in front of you, you tilted your head to the side slightly. A curious look on your face as you looked up at him. "So~, what ya up to? You planning on participating in any of the recreational games?"
Shaking his head no, he turned his body to fully face you. "No. I'd rather do something else."
"Like what?" You questioned. The curiosity in your voice clearer than Hagakure.
"I haven't decided yet."
'Mood.'
"Oh, okay."
"What about you. Are you planning on participating?"
Shrugging, you tilted your head to the side. Your lips thinned. "I'm not sure yet. I was planning on hanging out with Himari. Though, she's probably just going to join the American girls with their cheerleading. So I might."
"You two do almost everything together, don't you."
Chuckling, you shook your head lightly. "Well, we're really close. Our mothers knew eachother not long before they had us, due to a run-in at the local bakery. So, we kinda grew up together."
"I see."
With neither one of you saying any more, an awkward-ish silence threatened to take over. And right now, that was probably the last thing you wanted to happen.
Pursing your lips, the cheerful look on your face faded. Shifting into a mildly serious one as you spoke. "Hey, can I ask you something."
Seeing him give you a short nod, you wasted no time in asking the question on your mind. "Why did you want me on your team for the cavalry battle?"
Seemingly confused by your question, Todoroki told you what he believed was the real reason for his actions. "I thought your quirk would be helpful for defense. And I was right."
Crossing your arms over your chest, you shot him an unamused look. "We both know that's not true."
Lips thinning, Todoroki averted his gaze away from you. Wondering if the real reason would hurt your feelings or not.
After waiting a minute and still not getting an answer, a tired sigh left you as you let your arms fall back down to your side. "You don't have to lie to me Y'know? It's not like I'm gonna judge you."
Biting the inside of his lip, Todoroki averted his gaze back to you. "To be honest...I just wanted to make sure you would make it to the final game."
Confused, you raised a questioning brow. Thinking that you'd heard him wrong for a brief moment. "Come again?"
"I wanted to have a chance to fight you one-on-one to see how much you have improved since we trained together two weeks ago."
"So...you chose me to be on your team so I'd be guaranteed to make it to the next round, all because you want to fight me one-on-one?"
"Yes."
'So in other words he either wants to see if I can beat the shit out of him or wants to publicly humiliate me on stage...'
'...I have no issues whatsoever with that.'
"Okay valid."
As a peaceful silence began to take over, you reaverted your gaze back to the grass. Exhaling boredly, you thought for a brief moment.
'Well, atleast I know my quirk is still as shitty as ever.'
'Eh, it doesn't matter. It's not like I'll be using it ever again after I show that old man the recording.'
"Is that a new bracelet?"
Hearing Todoroki suddenly speak up, you snapped out of your daze. "Huh?"
Quickly realising what he was on about, you averted your gaze to your right wrist, where your new bracelet sat. "Oh! Yeah, it is."
"I noticed you had it on during the cavalry battle. I'm surprised it didn't break."
Chuckling, you rested your right hand on the back of your neck. "Honestly, me too."
"Where did you get it from? You didn't have it on during and after the obstacle race."
'You pay that much attention to me?' Is what you wanted to say, but you went against it. Thinking you might make everything awkward.
Instead, you whipped out another one of your quick and easily thought-up, first-class lies.
"Himari's mother asked us to meet her after the race and she gave us matching ones. She said that she had them custom made for the two of us."
"It looks to be really high quality."
Hearing his words, you momentarily paused. A suspicious look coming to your face as you raised a questioning brow. "Yeah. Apparently she had them made out of a special metal that was hard to break."
"When we asked her why she had them made for us, she said that she wanted to give Himari a gift. It's sort of an apology for not being around much. Though, with their jobs it only makes sense."
"Apparently my dad wanted to get me something, but didn't know what. So she offered to have matching ones made for the two of us."
"That's nice of her."
"Yeah, it is." You spoke. As a small smile came to your face, your voice unintentionally got a little quieter. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting her to make me of all people one. But, I'm really grateful she did."
Taking a glance at your bracelet, he perked up slightly upon seeing the pendant. "Yours has a snowflake pendant. So I'm assuming Chinatsu has some kind of flower on hers?"
Nodding, the fake, cheerful smile took its place back onto your face. "Mhm! A sunflower."
"They seem to match your quirks well."
"They do, don't they?" You hummed, glancing down at the new piece of jewellery for a second. "Though, if that wasn't her intention, then maybe she based them off our favourite seasons."
"What's your favourite season?" The two-toned boy questioned, sounding actually intrigued. Though, you didn't know nor did you really care why.
"Winter. Himari's is spring."
"It matches."
"I know right? Kinda weird that our quirks match our interests perfectly. Though, maybe it's got something to do with our quirks influencing our personality or some crap like that."
Hearing a small hum from him in response, you opened your mouth to say something. Though, you were cut off by two familiar voices yelling.
Turning your head, it was no surprise to you when you found out that the culprits we're the two blondes from earlier.
"Get moving, horsey!"
"Get off my back before I blow you to pieces, you damn hayfever-inducing idiot!"
"Save it for the bedroom, Bakugo."
Snorting in amusement at her sudden statement, you watched as Bakugo froze for a moment. Before flipping the blonde off his back seconds later and cussing her out.
"Hey!"
Huffing in amusement, you averted your gaze away from the two and back to Todoroki. Who also happened to be watching the two blondes bicker like idiots. "That girl really is a piece of work. She's amazing, though."
Glancing down at your bracelet for a brief moment, a content, happy sigh left you "I love Himari alot, that much is obvious. But honestly, I'm pretty grateful for her mother, too. She's sort of like a motherly-figure to me."
Hearing your last sentence, Todoroki grew intrigued. The two-toned boy didn't even think twice about whether it was a touchy subject or not before asking. "What about your mother?"
Hearing his question, your eyes widened a bit. Averting your gaze up to look him in the eyes, you knew you couldn't tell him anything.
It wasn't something you were required to keep secret, you just didn't want to open up about your private life to a boy who you've only known for three weeks.
Swallowing the small lump in your throat, you averted your gaze away from the boy and down to the grass. Silently cursing yourself as your voice came out quieter than you'd like.
"Well, I better go and wrangle Himari before Bakugo strangles her." Turning to leave, you gave him a small nod of acknowledgement. "See you later, Todoroki."
Not giving him any time to respond, you began walking towards the two bickering blondes. A monotone look plastered across your face as you kept your gaze on the grass beneath you.
'The second this festival is over, I'm giving my boss all the intel I got. Then I can go back to my usual life.'
'No stupidly hot candycane-haired boys who question everything, no nosy stuck-up rich girls, no short-tempered explosive pomeranians, no U.A...'
'Just a little longer, Y/N.'
'Just a little longer...'