Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia.
"Yes, finally!"
Ayame shot up from the couch in excitement, both hands clutching a rectangular electronic with loud music blasting through.
"I finally beat this boss!"
"How long did that take?" Yume asked from the kitchen, sleeves rolled up to her elbow and a pink apron over her regular clothes.
"Like an hour!" Ayame exclaimed and quickly sat back down, lying down on the couch to play her video game again. "I think I'm almost done with this game. There's still about five levels left before the second to last boss and—"
"Oi, shouldn't you be training?"
"Eep!"
Ayame got up from the couch to hide behind it, wide lilac eyes peeked at her uncle who just entered. Shiko was holding Aizawa's arm as she followed behind, laughing quietly at her daughter's reaction.
"Oji-san, are you staying for dinner?" Yume greeted with a smile, "We're having curry tonight."
"How can I say no to a free meal?" Aizawa smirked. He turned his attention to the brunette head slowly trying to crawl away, arching one brow in Ayame's direction. "Oi, are you trying to escape?"
Ayame quickly stood up and shook her head, short brown hair moving with her. "O-of course not!"
"Ayame, didn't you say U.A.'s Sports Festival was coming up?" Shiko sighed at her daughter. Yume had always been more ambitious and academic of the sisters. Although Suzume was too young to comprehend the complexity of school, she still caused quite a commotion when her Quirk manifested.
Meanwhile…Ayame… Shiko sighed for her middle child; she doesn't seem interested in anything except…games and comics.
"Yeah! And I was training hard at school!" Ayame defended, "I was just taking a break now!"
"Then let's continue your training," Aizawa smiled yet Ayame felt a shiver run down her spine. He guided Shiko to the couch before heading over to Ayame, dragging her out to their backyard. "Your summons disappears too easily so I'm going to keep beating them up until one can withstand three hits."
"Three?!"
"Do you want to make it five?" Aizawa turned to glare at her.
"Three it is!" Ayame quickly compromised, "But you gotta cheer for me then, Shouta-oji! Even though you're our homeroom teacher, I'm still your niece!"
"We'll see."
In the end, I didn't even pass the qualifier round. Ayame thought bitterly, Shouta-oji couldn't even cheer for me. If I had trained harder—if I had done better—then—then—!
Then, what? Nothing would have changed for Ayame. She would still feel bitter and upset at herself because Takarada or someone else may beat her later on. She'd only feel frustrated with herself and her Quirk.
She had always given up easily once Ayame realized the vast difference between her and Yume. No matter what Ayame did, it never felt enough to be proud over. Not when Yume had already accomplished all that and more. How can Ayame stand out against that? How can people not think of Yume when Ayame was basically the spitting image of her?
"You're only frustrated with your inability to separate yourself from your sister."
He was right.
As always, Todoroki was right.
Ayame had been stuck in Yume's shadow for so long that she had just…given up. What was the point in even trying when Yume was so much better?
Ah, Ayame had been just too naïve.
Because she had stopped trying, she was easily defeated and overwhelmed by the villains at USJ. Because Ayame had always been naïve and simple, she never considered the possibility of being devastated by fear in front of villains. It wasn't until after did Ayame realize, she was weak.
Weak, useless, pathetic.
She had done nothing to protect the students, to protect her sensei—her uncle. Ayame was immobilized after one hit and stopped. She lied on the ground, weak and feeble as she cried while watching Aizawa be beaten and—she could do nothing. Her uncle had to be the one to protect her again and again. The students had end up coming to her rescue.
And Ayame felt so pathetic.
No more, Ayame clenched her fists, I won't cry again. I'm going to beat Takarada's smug face and prove to Todoroki that people can change.
"Senpai looks different…doesn't she?" Ochako whispered to Midoriya from their booth in Class 1-A.
Nearly all of their classmates had come to watch their upperclassman's match. After Jirou and Yaoyorozu had informed them the second-years were to start soon, they quickly got their lunch in boxes and ran to the stage.
"Let's cheer her on!" Ashido waved her pink arm around, "Ayame-senpai!"
"Ganbatte!" Kirishima and Kaminari cheered.
"A-Ayame-senpai!" Midoriya called out.
"You can do it!" Ochako and Hagakure yelled.
Hotaru giggled and tapped Ayame's shoulder, bringing her attention back to reality with wide eyes. Hotaru pointed towards 1-A's booth and Ayame followed the finger, lilac eyes widening even more to see nearly the whole class there. She started to feel emotional and choked up to see her kouhais cheering for her.
With a big smile, Ayame waved back proudly and jumped up and down. She won't let them see her sad ever again! She will prove to them that she was strong, too!
Hesitantly, Ayame looked towards the other stands but could not see the odd red and white hair combination. Nor did she see familiar brunette hair or her parents. Quickly, Ayame ignored those thoughts to focus back onto the remaining announcements for the second-years to enter.
"Welcome, everyone, to U.A. High School's second year's competition!" Soharu Ume was the broadcaster for their year, similar to Midnight's job from earlier. "Let's have the number one student start it off with a pledge! Takarada Noeru-san, if you may!"
Of course it would be him, Ayame stared at Takarada.
Takarada made his way up to the podium with a straight back and measured steps. There were a few cheers from the girls nearby Ayame and she nearly rolled her eyes. Instead, she focused on the blank face of the class president. She doesn't plan to lose against him!
"I pledge—" to win; Takarada paused, remembering the outrageous pledge from the first-year earlier. Well, even if he has the same opportunity, he won't be as stupid. "To give an exciting show from us second-years."
Simple and easy. He left after the few applause from the stadium and brushed past Ayame, not once glancing in her direction.
"Well then! Let's begin!" Ume pointed to the giant monitor on stage. "This game will be the most important one!"
The screen was showing multiple colors of the games being rolled away, everyone watching in anticipation. It finally stopped on a red and black screen, the words 'BATTLE ROYALE' was printed in bold.
"Battle royale?" Hotaru tilted her head.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Usagi said quietly.
"It's been one year since you've all studied at U.A. This will be a test whether or not you can battle against villains!" Ume explained, "For this year, we've decided to only have one qualifier game. 'Battle Royale', as you can see, will test your abilities to survive until the end against each other!"
"Whoa—seriously?!"
"That's so much better than ours!" Bakugo yelled in outrage.
"K-kacchan?!" Midoriya gasped at the ash blonde boy, "Y-you're here?!"
"Why can't I be here?!" Bakugo turned to glare at Midoriya, "Besides, that crybaby-senpai has strong classmates. I want to see them fight!"
"Maybe he's actually here to cheer for her secretly," Kirishima sniggered.
"Shut it, weird-hair!"
"But! We will not be completely heartless!" Ume's voice cut through the chatter. She held out a thick silver bracelet for everyone to see. "All the students will have a partner. This bracelet will pair you up with the first person you meet and your partner cannot be changed! The goal is to break the enemies' bracelet in order to survive. If you or your partner's bracelets are broken, then you're out!"
At that explanation, Ume clenched her fingers and the bracelet broke easily. Everyone started to mutter against themselves at the brittle metal.
"Wait, Ume-sensei!" Natsumi raised a hand, "You said 'the first person we meet'. Does that mean we won't be fighting here?"
"Correct!" Ume smiled, "You'll all be launched into a forest as soon as everyone gets a bracelet!"
"L-launched?"
Yuu chuckled, turning to the stoic Noeru with a kind smile. "Let's hope we can be partners."
"Hm," Takarada glanced in Ayame's direction. "You'll be the only one I trust to not slow me down."
"There will be a time limit of 30 minutes! Either the last 16 teams to survive will advance to the next stage—or the top 16 teams with the highest score will advance after the time limit!"
"So there will only be 32 people for the tournament round…" Ayame said softly.
"It's literally…a battle royale… In order to accumulate points…they are forced to fight others," Midoriya analyzed.
"Would senpai…be okay?" Ochako asked hesitantly.
"Of course she will be!" Iida reassured, "Don't you remember from our training exercise? She's stronger than she looks!"
"Un!" Midoriya agreed.
"Form five orderly lines! We will attach the bracelets on you now!"
Ayame got in line with her fellow classmates, trying to stay calm. Thirty minutes may sound like a long time but in reality, it wouldn't be. They won't know what type of area they will be thrown in and—who would become their partners. It was really…draw of the luck.
There are around 200 students out of the second-years… So there would be… at least 100 teams, Ayame glanced around her fellow second-years. Only two classes are hero class…but the others should have been taught a little regarding combat and Quirks.
Ayame smiled wryly to herself.
U.A. is going all out this year, huh?
A few rows over, Todoroki looked down on the stage with a blank face. He had managed to avoid his father so far and he knew for certain Endeavor would not think of coming to the second-year's stage. There was about 50 minutes left before the first-years start their event again. Meaning, they will be able to watch their qualifier round first.
"I'll prove to you—that I'm more than what anyone says! I'll prove to you that I'm different than what you or anyone else believes me to be!"
Todoroki frowned.
He couldn't understand why he ended up listening to her. Somehow, his feet had taken him to the second-year's stage. Rather than joining his classmate's booth close to the front, he waited near the back, far enough so the others won't see him yet—close enough to watch the stage.
Though they won't even be here, Todoroki thought, glancing at the giant televisions decorated around the stage.
His mismatched eyes focused back on Ayame instead. She was rubbing the silver bracelet on her right wrist, a serious expression on her face the whole time. A second later, she looked up towards the audience, searching for something—or someone. She had waved to the 1-A booth briefly before turning her attention back to the massive crowd, scanning over him once.
Todoroki blinked as her eyes moved away from him.
But she turned her head around just as fast. From his distance, Todoroki could see the shock on her face as she looked in his direction. And then slowly, Ayame rose up a fist, lips moving to say three words.
"Just watch me."
Everyone gathered together on a rectangular pad as soon as the students have a bracelet. A majority of them looked nervous yet the hero classes looked confident. For once, Ayame wasn't making a big show or anything. She was focused on what she needed to do. There was a lot riding on this competition, after all.
"Good luck, everyone!" Ume smiled, "The bracelet will start working as soon as you land. Let's hope you can land safely!"
With that, she pressed a button and the pad sprang upwards.
All of the students flew up, shouts and screaming echoing around her from the chaotic bodies. Ayame glanced around and realized everyone was sent to different directions. Below, a forest of trees was awaiting them but—off to the side, she saw a little lake.
Let's focus on landing first, Ayame reached out a hand and like before, a medium sized tengu appear. She did not want to risk overusing her Quirk yet; the headaches will leave her at a disadvantage. The tengu slowed her descent and Ayame landed softly on the grass, letting her summon disappear.
She rubbed her wrist, carefully holding the silver bracelet. "There should a sign for us to know our partners," Ayame wondered softly, "But…what if we can't find a partner? Will we be eliminated if someone destroys the bracelet?"
She began to sweat and held her right hand close to her heart. L-let's focus on finding a partner first.
There was a small rustling to her right side and Ayame looked after. It sounded like it came from the lake she had landed next to and, quickly deciding she needed to find a partner fast, she ran in that direction.
The thicket of trees lessened as she neared the lake, stumbling out from the branches and bushes to stare at the lake—or rather, the person in it. Ayame gasped, heat slowly traveling to her cheeks at the sight of a bare, toned back, wet icy hair—and—sky blue eyes turned in her direction.
Both bracelets beeped once and glowed blue. Ayame startled on her wrist, staring at the matching insignia of a star on the bracelet—then turning towards Yuu with wide eyes.
"Looks like we're partners, Ayame-san," Yuu smiled kindly as he raised his hand to show off the glowing blue bracelet with the star symbol.
"Y-yeah," Ayame looked away from his toned abs. Ah; I can see why the girls like Yuu-kun. But why was he shirtless in the first place?!
Yuu noticed the flustered expression on the girl's face and chuckled, slowly manipulating the water from his jacket and shrugging it back on. Ayame collected herself in that brief time, stepping away from the depth of the forest towards Yuu. However, Yuu quickly snapped his head in her direction, his eyes sharpening dangerously and raised one hand up.
"Come here."
Ayame blinked in confusion; she never heard Yuu so serious before. But before she can react, a stream of water shot forward towards her yet—it brushed past her face. Ayame whirled around to see a body fall off a tree and quickly, she understood what Yuu meant. She ran to him as he instructed earlier, stopping right at the edge of the lake.
"We're surrounded," he whispered softly to her, eyes scanning the trees for the shadowed bodies.
"I can help!" Ayame was determined. They were partners after all!
"That won't be necessary," Yuu's princely smile returned yet Ayame felt useless again. Why won't he trust her, too?
"You guys from the hero course always act so stuck up," a rowdy voice spoke from the trees.
"The 'Two Princes' of U.A.? Don't make me laugh! We just need to beat your partner!"
"Let's go!"
Dozens of students rushed down from the trees. From what Ayame can see, all of their bracelets were glowing in different colors with odd insignia stamped on. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion; were they ganging up on the hero course first?
"Well, this makes it easier."
Ayame looked up at Yuu yet he was not looking at her. He smiled again but there was a sharp look in his eyes at the other students. The water from the lake shot up and swirled around the students, leaving Ayame and Yuu in the center of the whirlpool. She was amazed by his water manipulation Quirk yet from what she can remember, Yuu cannot freeze water. Only boil it.
The students were drowning and Yuu put his right hand into the water. Ayame can see slight steam beginning to emerge from the whirlpool and the trapped students were struggling to swim away. Her eyes widen when slowly, the metal eroded from the water pressure and yet—Yuu wasn't stopping.
"H-hey, Yuu-kun," Ayame turned to him, "Their bracelets are breaking."
Yuu looked as if he didn't hear her. His eyes widened and a smirk split onto his face. He looked absolutely in control and enthralled by the struggling students that…it was beginning to scare Ayame.
"Yuu-kun!" She grabbed onto his left arm and shook him, bringing icy eyes back to lilac ones. Ayame looked sternly at him and pointed towards the drowning students. "They've had enough!"
"Oh."
The water fell in an instant and the students followed, coughing and hacking out the leftover liquid from their lungs. They looked absolutely angry and upset—almost moving to attack but—couldn't. They don't have a bracelet anymore to allow them to fight.
"Second wave, go!"
A smaller group of students appeared this time yet before Yuu can move again, Ayame activated her Quirk. Dark tendrils of smoke erupted from her body, fast and quick to take the form of a dragon encasing Yuu and Ayame. Although her summons could not talk, they can still impact their surroundings with their ghastly shape and power. With a strong swipe of its arm, it knocked four students to the ground and the other two into each other.
Yuu stared at Ayame silently, hiding the shock from the giant summon she had created. He doesn't remember her to create something bigger than that wolf before. Since when can she make something the size of a small building?
"41 teams have been knocked out! 63 teams left in the arena!" Ume's voice echoed the forest.
"Wow! Did you see Shimizu-senpai's Quirk?! He took out 7 teams by himself!" Hagakure waved excitedly.
"C'mon! Senpai was much stronger! Look at that dragon—it's so manly!" Kirishima argued back.
"Damn it! I want to fight in this battle royale too!" Bakugo shook the railing.
"Look—it's the other prince!"
The screen showed Takarada creating crystal spears from the ground to trap a few students together; their arms were sticking out with the glowing bracelet. Natsumi quickly broke the bracelets from the trapped students and gave Takarada an 'okay' sign. Both of their bracelets were glowing bright green with a triangle insignia.
"He's pretty impressive too…" Ojiro said in awe.
"His Quirk reminds me of Todoroki-kun's. The crystal and ice look similar in structure but Takarada-senpai is able to create it within his body too. How much stronger are those gems compared to the raw ones found in mines? What is his limit on them?" Midoriya muttered to himself. "Shimizu-senpai can control water and heat it but can he do the opposite to freeze it? Can he also create water from thin air? What is…"
"Deku-kun is really fired up," Ochako giggled.
"I think we took care of the students in this area," Yuu glanced around, "Let's see if we can collect more points."
"Ah," Ayame let her dragon disappear, silently relieved there was no headache this time. "I saw most of the students fall that way."
She pointed towards the mountain area and Yuu nodded his head. He began to lead the way and Ayame followed, waving 'bye' to the students still frustrated to have lost, and hopped after Yuu.
"I'm surprised, Ayame-san, you must have improved your Quirk quite a bit," Yuu complimented with his usual, polite tone.
"Ehe…it was about time," she rubbed her head shyly. Ayame glanced at Yuu hesitantly, still thinking about the scene she had seen before…with his wide eyes and odd smirk.
Yuu eyed the short hair on Ayame. It barely reached her shoulders, reminding him of her hair length from last year but—he knew she did not cut it. The elaborate braid and bun was enough proof that Ayame had purposely styled it that way.
To differentiate from her sister?
He smiled gently, "I never complimented your cute new hairstyle, Ayame-san."
Ayame stopped rubbing her head to blink at him. "O-oh! T-thanks!"
Well, she wasn't really expecting Yuu of all people to mention it. It's also been weeks since she changed it. Why mention it now?
Ah, Yuu-kun is always so thoughtful.
"Twenty minutes remaining!"
"…We should hurry up. We don't know how many points the others have or where they may be. If we took care most of the students in our area, we should try to attack the others," Yuu turned back to their task.
"Oh, right," Ayame nodded and paused, "I think…I have an idea."
Yuu glanced at her. Yes, something had definitely changed with this girl. Before, Ayame wouldn't put in the effort to train—let alone create that giant summon. Now, she's saying she has an idea?
"What is it?" Yuu smiled in encouragement.
"I can get us to the other area faster," Ayame nodded her head, "And—I will be bait to lure others to me. Once we have them grouped up, you can break their bracelets like before." She paused, shaking her head quickly, "Not exactly like before though, okay?"
Yuu knew what she meant. He could only offer an apologetic smile and nodded his head obediently.
"Alright. Then, wait for me there," Ayame pointed to the base of the mountain, "I'll be back soon!"
"Be careful, Ayame-san," Yuu warned, "It's more dangerous when we're separated."
"I know," she smiled, "But I know you can take care of yourself!"
I didn't mean me, Yuu thought quietly, watching her summon the usual ookami and ran off, I don't want you to be the reason I lose.
Yuu ran in the direction Ayame pointed in regardless. There was something…different about that girl lately. During the Quirk assessment test on the first day of their second school year, she barely improved during the break. Ayame was still the same old girl who went on about some video games she beat over vacation.
From what he remembered about the little facts he knew about her, Ayame suffered from her insecurity. Being related to LullaCry—and now, Eraser Head, had casted a shadow in her heart. Being compared to her notorious sister had left her feeling lost. Although Yuu knew Ayame would not let it show on the outside, she never once tried to improve herself.
Then what changed?
Being an assistant to Aizawa-sensei for the first years? No, that shouldn't be right…
The attack at USJ?
Yes, that must be it. Ayame was forced to face the villains during that time. She had returned back to school without the same enthusiastic self that even Takarada decided to pointedly ignore her. And now, she showed up to the Sports Festival with a surprising improvement to her Quirk and—even giving him, the number two in their class, directions.
Well, it doesn't really matter to me, Yuu hid behind some boulders and waited, I'm not interested to learn more about her sister complex.
"After her!"
Ayame commanded the ookami to run faster, right hand held close to her chest to protect the bracelet and the other hand held onto the mane of the wolf. She glanced behind her to see two teams chasing her—it looked like they had formed an alliance.
She could almost see the base of the mountain where she told Yuu to wait at. However, she cannot see any sign of the blue haired boy. Hopefully, he was just hiding and not being taken hostage. Based on her glowing blue bracelet, they were still in the competition.
Suddenly, a swarm of snakes attacked the ghostly wolf. Ayame gasped as she lost control and jumped off the ookami before the snakes could reach her. She rolled forward, barely making it back to the mountain, and stood up to ran.
A scaly rope wrapped around her leg and tripped her, causing Ayame to fall on her face. She turned back to see a snake slowly curling up her leg and four figures emerging from the depth of the forest. Ayame's eyes widen and crawled back while tugging on the trapped leg.
"You really shouldn't have wandered off on your own," the girl of the group smirked, her hands sharpened into knives.
"Hold still and it will be over fast," the boy commanded the snake to tug her towards them.
"Ah, man," Ayame sighed, "I was really hoping to be out of range for this."
"What?"
A large wave of water appeared behind Ayame and shot towards the four students, submerging them into a sphere of water and forcing them to swim within. The snake slithered away when the other's Quirk deactivated and Ayame quickly stood up, thankful her pants had covered her skin. She'd hate to feel the scales on her.
"I was hoping to not get wet," Ayame frowned and tugged off her gym jacket. Under the blue jacket revealed a black tank top clinging to Ayame's skin from the water as she attempted to wring the water from her uniform.
"Sorry, Ayame-san," Yuu appeared again with his usual smile. He twirled his finger around and the water pressure quickened, causing the bracelets to crack on their opponents, "I was worried I may be too late."
Ayame gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Yuu-kun. Now, can you help me with this?"
She brought the wet jacket forward and with another wave, the water was taken from the cotton. Yuu released the water bubble for the other two teams, smiling innocently as always in their direction.
"Ugh, I knew something was suspicious when she made us chase her," one of the boys groaned.
"I just have a reliable teammate," Ayame chirped.
"10 minutes remaining and 35 teams are left standing!"
"Ayame-senpai and Shimizu-senpai work well together," Tsuyu commented, "They're in the top 2 teams."
While the students in the arena cannot see the scoreboard, the audience can. As expected, the 'Two Princes' were strong even by themselves and had taken the majority of the points alone. Ayame and Natsumi were able to help them but—it had mainly been the two boys suppressing their opponents.
"As expected of last year's winners," Tokoyami said.
"Yuu-kun is just carrying her to the top!"
Class 1-A glanced to the stadium above them, listening to the jealous girls' shouts in silent shock.
"His teammate is barely doing anything! And she found him naked?!"
"Who is that?! I don't remember seeing her last year!"
"But…she looks familiar."
"Oi…oi… Girls are sure scary," Kirishima sweated, "They're not…talking about Ayame-senpai…are they?"
"Is she trying to strip in front of him?!"
The boys winced.
"Yup…they're definitely talking about her…" Sero confirmed quietly.
"The competition is more exciting," Shoji's mouth said, "Why are they looking at useless things?"
Ochako laughed nervously. "Jealousy can be a scary thing…"
"Don't mind, senpai!" Ashido cheered despite Ayame unable to hear them, "You're strong too!"
"Yeah!" Kaminari shouted with Ashido, "You can win!"
Midoriya smiled at his classmates active cheering and looked back onto the screen. It revealed Ayame to putting her jacket back on and discussing another strategy with Yuu closely. Although it looked as though they were figuring out a strategy to win, it does not seem like it with the way Yuu inclined his head down to listen and Ayame leaning up close to him.
"Is this…love blooming onto the battlefield?" Ochaka gasped.
"No, it can't!" Mineta cried out.
"21 teams remaining!"
"The numbers are dwindling fast," Yuu frowned, "We have 12 points…that should be enough to secure us to the top 16th."
"H-how can you be sure?" Ayame was still nervous.
"There are exactly 104 teams Ume-sensei had announced earlier. In order to get to the top 16th, each team should have at least 6 points—if they're divided evenly. So if there are 104 points from all the teams, minus 16 points from the top spots, there are 88 points left for us to take. We already have 12 points, double of what was necessary, so no matter what, we will advance."
Yuu explained with a kind smile yet Ayame's head was swirling from the math. She swore this hurts more than the headaches resulted from her Quirk. But, what he said had made sense. There are 21 teams remaining…so there are 5 points left.
"So…what we should do now is…hide and wait?" Ayame suggested hesitatingly.
"Cor-rect," Yuu smiled and tapped her head; she's smarter than she looks.
"4 minutes remaining!"
"It would be best if we can return back to the lake. I can hide us underwater," Yuu looked towards the opposite direction, "But we made quite a distance since then. I'm afraid we'll be spotted if we move too fast."
"…Should we still try it?"
Yuu turned back to Ayame quietly.
"I think…we're strong enough to handle the other students," Ayame looked confident in her answer, lilac eyes shining with determination. "If what you said is true, then we've doubled the average points necessary. I—think—we're strong together."
He was still quiet for a moment, watching her stare at him with an unwavering gaze. How funny, Yuu never seen Ayame so driven before. Besides getting angry at Takarada's childish insults at times, this was the first time Ayame was challenging herself.
"You do realize with the remaining teams, they will mostly be fellow classmates or hero class students," Yuu pointed out, "Do you think we will be able to handle aspiring heroes as us?"
"Yes!" Ayame refused to back down, "What's the point in becoming heroes if we're too scared to fight? There will always be risks involved but—if we can't overcome them, then we won't get stronger!"
Ayame refused to let fear control her again. She would not be hesitant with her decisions and will fight as if her life depended on it. Someday, it just very might. She was surrounded by aspiring heroes just like her—Ayame knew how desperate they can be if pushed into a corner. What's another better opportunity than this?
Interesting… Yuu smiled yet it felt more like a smirk, his eyes turning shaper by the corner.
"Okay," he kept the pleasant smile on his face.
Ayame grinned in return and nodded her head. Black smoke formed around her again and separated itself onto the ground, creating a large ookami to fit the both of them. Ayame hopped on and looked at Yuu expectantly, her hand gripping the smoky trails.
"I trust you to have my back!"
Yuu hopped on with one fluid movement, smiling again and wrapped one arm around her waist. Ayame stiffened immediately and Yuu resisted the urge to laugh.
"Let's go, Ayame-san," he purposely lowered his tone and leaned on her back.
Without another word, the ookami burst into a sprint. Ayame felt the rush of the wind against her face to cool down her cheeks and, once again, understood why the girls would like Yuu-kun so easily. He was just—too smooth! Too sly!
Well, this is fine too, Yuu thought lightly, as long as we don't run into Noeru, we will be fine.
"…Thanks, Yuu-kun, for listening to me," Ayame spoke quietly, eyes focused on the front. "I-I know we put ourselves at risk now but—"
Yuu chuckled from behind, breaking Ayame's sentence midway at the sudden sound. "—but it's not guaranteed we will make it onto the final spots. Nor are we safe standing out in the open."
"Ah…yeah…" Ayame was left silent. No wonder Yuu deserved to be second in class. He knew what she was thinking before she even said it.
This was the first time Ayame really…talked with Yuu. All their interactions before were just passing pleasantries. But she knew Yuu was smart and very in-tuned with others. It made sense as to why everyone gravitated towards Yuu with his pleasant smiles and understanding nature. Although she was probably not the teammate he wanted, Yuu still listened to both of her plans and explained the situation to her patiently.
Hah…Yuu-kun really is perfect. No wonder he received so many confessions, Ayame sighed in her mind.
But…she wondered if anyone else ever saw that expression on his face. The way his eyes sharpened dangerously and his gentle smile turning into an excited smirk…
Ayame shook that from mind. Maybe she was overthinking it. Yuu had been fine afterwards. He's—
"—much nicer than Takarada."
Yuu stared at the back of her brunette hair, wondering if Ayame meant to mumble that part out loud. Normally, he would ignore that statement but—this girl was the one Takarada purposely provokes. He really wanted to know why his friend hates her so much. Despite her being a little ditzy and airheaded at times, Yuu couldn't think up of a reason.
"Noeru isn't that bad," Yuu laughed again, "He's…not good with emotions."
Ayame stiffened. Why was Yuu bringing him up? Wait—did she say the last part out loud?!
"Well, that doesn't give him a reason to be a jerk," Ayame replied regardless. So what if they're friends? Yuu was nice to everyone! But—Takarada was the complete opposite!
"He's just very…driven," Yuu mulled over for the right word to use, smiling as he leaned closer to Ayame. Maybe he can stir up some trouble since he had the opportunity to be her teammate. There seemed to be something deeper going on between those two. "Do you want to know a secret?"
She turned to the side briefly, glancing back at him with one lilac eye before facing forward again. Yuu was currently a little too close for comfort now! W-why was he whispering in her ear?!
Ayame forced herself to calm down by looking at the passing scenery. She was definitely curious but… "If it's about Takarada then n—"
"If Noeru cannot become the top of his class for three years in U.A., he cannot be a hero."
"They're totally flirting!" Mineta cried out from the stadium. Besides the fact that they were riding closely together on the summon, Yuu was purposely leaning closer to whisper something in Ayame's ear.
"I think I should be able to try that move on her next time," Kaminari whispered to himself, "Just subtly ask Ayame-senpai, I would like to ride the wolf with her and—ouch!"
Jirou retracted her earphone jack with a 'tch'. "Get your pervy hands off senpai."
"It's not even on her yet!"
"Yet!"
"Ahhh, what is she doing?!"
"Why did Yuu-kun agree?!"
"T-they sure are loud…" Sato glanced towards the angry girls again.
"They should be focusing on their studies instead!" Iida reprimanded strictly, "This is an important Sports Festival for U.A.! Flirting should be the last thing on everyone's mind!"
"Tell that to them," Jirou jabbed a thumb in Mineta and Kaminari's direction.
"I shall!"
"Wait—no—Iida—stop!" The two tried to run away.
"You should focus back on the screen!" Kaminari cried out, "Senpai is getting ambushed!"
"Duck!"
She didn't have time to think about what Yuu just said. At the sight of a flying object aiming towards them, Ayame instructed Yuu loudly to duck. Yuu covered Ayame instinctively, glancing behind him to see a paper fan spin upwards and around again.
"That's not a normal fan," Yuu examined, "If I remember correctly, Class 2-B has a user that can control paper."
"Yup, you're right!" A bubbly voice called out from above.
Ayame's ookami skid to a stop, both riders looking up to see a short girl waving at them from the top. Her platinum blonde hair was tied back into pigtails, wide eyes excited to see the two opponents. On her wrist adorned a glowing purple bracelet.
"It's been awhile, Sasaki-chan, Yuu-kun!" She grinned, "It's Eimi!"
"Hah…" Ayame blinked at the overly cheery girl. From what she remembered about her, Eimi was friendly to everyone but—more so than Ayame. This girl was not shy with her emotions and—definitely not shy with her feelings for the boys.
"You wouldn't happen to allow us to pass, will you, Eimi-san?" Yuu gave his killer smile, one that often left girls weak in the knees.
"A-ahh, Yuu-kun! That's sly!" Eimi put her hands to her face, blushing, "But no can do!"
A speedy blur darted towards them at that moment, startling Ayame to rein the wolf away but it was too late. The blur rammed right into the ookami in a single movement and—dissipate the wolf. Ayame jumped back to stead her balance and Yuu regained his easily.
"Who—Nao-kun!" Ayame gasped, this was her classmate! "You're paired with her?"
The one who attacked them was a fellow 2-A classmate, Nao. His Quirk allowed him to transform into a werewolf by command, auburn hair covering him from head to toe. On his right paw was a glowing purple bracelet, same as Eimi.
"Sorry, Shimizu, Sasaki, I just met her by chance," Nao nodded his furry head in Eimi's direction, "But I guess running into you two is just our luck. We'll be taking your points now!"
Nao rushed forward but Yuu reacted quicker. He reached out to bring Ayame back and created water to surround them, forcing the wolf back. Nao transformed back into a human, clicking his tongue and shaking the water off of him.
"Forgot how annoying your Quirk is," Nao rubbed his hair, two pointy ears twitched on top of his head.
"I'm a bad match against you two," Yuu smiled politely, "Sorry."
"Yeah," Nao smiled back, "But she isn't."
Yuu whirled around to see Ayame grasping her arm tightly, fresh blood trailing down the thin cut. Eimi had gotten on the other side of the clearing while he had been distracted. They weren't aiming for Yuu at all. They were trying to weaken Ayame!
"I'm fine!" Ayame brought the bracelet close to her chest, "It's still okay!"
Yuu nodded in relief and turned his attention back to Nao. Silently, he wondered to himself how to beat them. Although he was able to create water from thin air, Yuu have been reaching his limit. The last water attack was already weaker than the one he made against the two teams from earlier. Hopefully, the other team would not notice his silent dilemma.
"What's wrong, Shimizu? Where's your flashy water?" Nao taunted, "And Sasaki, I'm still the superior wolf! How dare you use that to ride around!"
"Mine's cuter!" Ayame stuck out her tongue at him. "And why are you calling me 'Sasaki'?! It's Ayame!"
"I knew that would piss you off." Nao snickered, "But, anyways, I'm the real wolf! I'm warm and furry!"
"Yeah, but you can talk!"
"What's wrong with that?!"
"Those two…are friends…right?" Ojiro commented with a small laugh.
"Isn't that how Ayame-senpai gets along with others?" Ashido giggled.
"Kinda…like a social butterfly!" Ochako compared.
"2 minutes remaining!"
"Nao-kun! Stop playing!" Eimi whined from the tree branch, twirling her paper fan around, "You can't hold back because they're classmates!"
"I'm not playing!"
"Yuu-kun, your Quirk—is it okay?" Ayame backed up against him as they both stared at the opposing enemies arguing with each other.
How did she know… Yuu glanced behind to her. "I might be approaching my limit soon."
"Then let's combine our Quirks!"
Yuu arched an eyebrow at that. "How do you suggest that?"
Ayame grinned and turned to him. She grabbed one of his hands boldly, lilac eyes shining like a child with a secret and raised their joined hands together.
"By supplying me the most water you can create. I'll take care of the rest!" She smiled again, confident and relentless as she squeezed his hand. "Trust me."
"Oi, Eimi—we need to focus!" Nao stopped their argument to turn towards the two opponents. "They're letting down their guard!"
Eimi turned her attention back below and gasped. She twirled the paper fan more and swung it down, aiming for the two still looking at each other. Nao turned back into his werewolf form and ran towards them.
"1 minute remaining! 18 teams left in the arena!"
Yuu smiled helplessly. This girl…she just keeps surprising him. Although he was skeptical at first when he realized they were partners, Yuu truly believed he would be the one to carry the team. But instead, Ayame held her ground against the others. She had really…changed from the first-year he knew.
"Okay."
Smoke manifested from Ayame and Yuu's joined hand, dozens of thin dark tendrils shot upwards and swirling around together to take the form of a serpent dragon. The water stream swam within the long dragon like a gushing river and Ayame grinned again. This was exactly what she imagined it to be!
She turned her attention to the approaching wolf and the dragon moved to swallow Nao. Nao jumped away, barely missing the large dragon and gulped. Since when can she do that?!
The dragon did not stop moving. The tail finally finished forming and it curled around the paper fan, soaking up the water and caused it to lay limp. Eimi cried and reached into her pocket, bringing out two little paper cranes.
"I'm not done yet!" She threw the paper cranes in their direction.
"30 seconds remaining!"
The paper cranes flew fast and dodged the swimming serpent dragon. Eimi moved her hands and her brows furrowed in concentration. At least—one crane must make it to their wrist! One of them was strong enough to break the bracelet! Eimi had seen it happened before!
Nao rushed forward again in his wolf form, jumping up to avoid the serpent tail and Yuu moved to slam his free hand into the water within the dragon. Steam began to form from the boiling water, creating a more ghastly appearance to the dark smoke and Ayame commanded the dragon to swirl around them, leaving no space for the paper cranes to get in.
"10 seconds remaining!"
With her free hand, she motioned the dragon forward and swallowed the paper cranes during Eimi's flustered state. The paper broke within the water and the cranes stopped moving, only being carried by the water current within and Ayame turned her attention back to Nao.
He saw a brief opening where the dragon left the two's side and jumped in. However, Ayame was quicker and moved the dragon to him. The werewolf tried to dodge again but the dragon grazed over its right front leg, causing Nao to howl in pain from the boiling water and—the bracelet broke.
"Time's up! 16 teams are left in the arena!"
The whole stadium cheered in an uproar. The television revealed the many teams left standing from the aftermaths of the battle. Class 1-A went crazy as they cheered for their upperclassman, staring at the shocked expression on Ayame's face.
The dragon disappeared and the water fell onto the dirt below. Ayame gasped from the following headache, her free hand reached up to grasp her head but—her eyes were turned to Yuu's direction. Yuu looked mildly pleased and surprised by the end, his eyes focused on the still glowing bracelets on their wrists.
"W-we—did we do it?!" Ayame asked excitedly.
Yuu calmed down to stare at her eager expression and smiled. He nodded his head and helped Ayame massage her head.
"Yup, we did."
Ayame didn't even care for her manners or Yuu's sudden affection. She cheered loudly and in her excitement, threw her arms around Yuu. The boy stiffened under her arms yet Ayame didn't notice. She was nearly jumping in joy at the results of the battle royale—she qualified! Ayame passed the first round!
"Ugh, we shouldn't have picked a fight," Nao lay on his back, leaving his burned wrist on his chest.
"Nao-kun! Are you alright?!" Eimi jumped off the tree to run over to Nao.
"Oh no!" Ayame realized what she had done and separated from Yuu, leaving the taller boy to silently look after her. "Nao-kun! Sorry!"
Nao sat up and, realizing there were two girls attending to him, he smiled instead. Well, this wasn't so bad either.
"No, Ayame, you need to compensate for my wrist," Nao helped up his injured hand. Now that they weren't enemies any longer, Nao went back to calling her by her name.
"I'm not letting you have my spot in the tournament!" Ayame heatedly rejected.
"You can compensate me in another way!"
"Technically, it was my fault," Yuu kneeled down next to Ayame to smile at Nao, "How do you want me to compensate you, Nao-san?"
Nao paused to stare at his vice president and felt a shiver run down his spine. What the hell? Since when did Yuu look so intimidating with his smile?! Why would he care what he does with Ayame?!
"Never mind. I'd trust rather trust Recovery Girl," Nao mumbled.
Eimi giggled and Ayame sighed in relief.
"Everyone! Please gather back onto the stage!" Ume's voice echoed the forest again and, with a smile, the four of them headed back together.
"Uwah! That was so exciting!" Ochako pumped up her arms exactly. "I knew Ayame-senpai would win!"
"That last fight was the best!" Kirishima was equally excited, "Hey, Bakugo, which part was your favorite?!"
Bakugo frowned as his attention was focused on Takarada and Yuu's form on the television. "That shiny hair guy… He changed the whole damn landscape with his Quirk."
They turned their attention back to Takarada and quietly remembered the scene they saw. During the first five minutes of the game when everyone was trying to find their teammate, he found Natsumi first. From there on, he encased everyone within 30 meters into a crystallized dome with him in the center. With both Natsumi and Takarada rounding off the little prison Takarada made, that team easily scored 12 points by themselves. Some people weren't even able to find their partners yet when the duo ambushed them.
"His Quirk…reminds me of Todoroki-san…" Yaoyorozu said softly.
"The crystallization and creation from his body seemed to be a tad higher than Todoroki-kun's…" Midoriya noted.
"What the hell are those two 'princes'? Are they monsters?!" Mineta cried out, "Th-that whirlpool was scary by itself!"
Their attention turned to Yuu next. He kept up a polite smile on his face as he entered the stadium, noticing Takarada had arrived at the same time and waved to his friend.
"Senpai can heat up the water, too," Tsuyu pointed out.
"But…he seems limited on the amount of water he can create," Midoriya turned to Yuu's page in his notebook. "In the end, the amount he created was much less than before. It seems he can control existing water pretty well, however."
Takarada glared at Ayame that entered the stadium with his friend, scoffing at the still glowing bracelet on her wrist. Ayame noticed that he passed as well, not surprised but, definitely not content. She crossed her arms and looked away from him, turning her attention to 1-A's booth. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the others still here and waved, hopping over to their side.
But, she didn't get far when she saw Hotaru enter the stage as well. The short girl had a glowing red bracelet on and Ayame cheered, rushing over to her friend to engulf her into a hug. At the sight of Usagi wearing the same bracelet as Hotaru, Ayame hugged them both.
"Ayame-senpai looks happy," Ochako giggled.
"If I recall, she wasn't in the tournament last year," Iida hummed, "But it seems she did just fine today!"
"Yeah!" Sero cheered, "We should give more credit to her."
"Tch, she's still a crybaby!" Bakugo rejected.
Kirishima laughed and slapped Bakugo's back. "Is this your way of showing affection?"
"Screw off!"
Todoroki watched silently from his position nearby. His hands clutched the railing as he looked down onto the stage. He hadn't realized he was so caught up in watching the competition that he closed in onto the stage. Whether he was accidentally focused on Ayame's screen the whole time—even he did not know. With the multiple cameras all around the stadium, it showed at least 7 different teams each time but somehow, he always managed to single out the brunette.
"Oh! I remember why she looks familiar!"
Todoroki glanced at the audience besides him.
"She looks like LullaCry!"
"Oh—you're right! LullaCry did mention having a sister attending U.A. before."
"Ah, the little sister is not bad, huh?"
"Must run in the family!"
Todoroki looked away and turned around. He wasn't interested in hearing more about them.
"What a shame though! The kid has a flashy Quirk but—how practical is it?"
"I prefer LullaCry! The villains can't get away with her around!"
Todoroki paused again, a small frown upon his lips at those remarks. Ayame's angry outburst from earlier floated in his mind and yet—he pushed it away. It was her problem, not his. Just because she managed to pass the qualifier round did not change anything yet.
"Oiii! Senpai!" Ochako waved her hand around to catch Ayame's attention, "We have to go now! We're starting again soon!"
Ayame looked towards 1-A and smiled, waving 'bye' to her kouhais. It would be fine since there should be a small break for the second-years again.
"Now then, here are the final results!" Ume pointed towards the giant screen on the stage.
First Place: Takarada & Natsumi – 15 points
Second Place: Shimizu & Sasaki – 13 points
Ayame stared wide eyed on the screen. She was placed…second? She knew Yuu was smart yet—he was way too accurate with his estimate! Every other team had less than 6 points but—they…really doubled their points…
"W-wow, Ayame-chan, you did amazing!" Hotaru nudged Ayame.
"Uh," Ayame was still shocked, "It was…Yuu-kun who did the hard work."
She laughed in the end, brushing off her efforts to glance at Yuu. He turned at that time to glance as her too, another smile emerging on his lips at her gaze.
"So she only passed because of you," Takarada said to Yuu.
"Actually," Yuu chuckled softly, "Ayame-san held her own. I was surprised."
Takarada looked at his friend then with a perplexed expression. He wasn't serious—was he?
"You're too kind," Takarada frowned.
Yuu merely hummed.
"Alright! We will take a half hour break before the next exciting event! Make sure to remember to return!" Ume waved to the audience with a dazzling smile.
"Ah, as expected of an ex-idol," an audience sighed dreamily at Ume.
"Ne, Hotaru-chan! Tell me all about your competition! Wait no—we have to go cheer on 1-A again! They are starting soon!" Ayame was waving wildly around from the stacked events. "Ah but—that gave my stomach such a workout! Let's get some food first!"
Hotaru smiled helplessly as her friend proceeded to wave to Natsumi and Usagi to join them. Even though they may have a chance to fight against each other for the next tournament round, Ayame was still cheery and friendly.
Ayame paused to remember something and looked up, smiling at Yuu who happened to be looking at her too. She gave him a brief wave, promptly ignoring Takarada.
"Yuu-kun! Thanks for being my teammate!" Ayame grinned, "It was fun!"
Yuu blinked and another smile appeared. Gentle, practiced, and…cautious. Ayame blinked and the careful consideration from Yuu was gone. She wondered if she was imagining things again.
"Ahhh, sorry I'm late!"
Ayame teleported in with Hotaru—pausing to sit down to calm her head from spinning—before looking in Midoriya's direction with dizzy eyes. Everyone looked surprised again by Ayame and Hotaru's sudden appearance and watched the neon glow on the short girl's freckles dim.
"Deku-kun! I missed your fight!" Ayame was regretful and hugged the short boy, "I'm sorry! I was honestly rooting for you from the festival!"
"S-s-s-s-sen-p-p-pai!" Midoriya blushed a deep red as he tried to slowly scoot away. "I-It's a-a-alright!"
"Ayame-senpai, I think you're choking him," Tokoyami informed calmly.
"Ah!" Ayame quickly let go to scan over him. Seeing no visible injuries allowed her to heave a sigh of relief. "Wha—but seriously, what happened? You just—you were about to walk out the stage!"
"Mind control Quirk," Iida answered, "A very dangerous but useful Quirk!"
"Ohhh," Ayame patted Midoriya again, "I'm glad you pulled through!"
He smiled in return and quickly, all three of them took their seats by Ochako and Iida. Ayame purposely allowed Hotaru to sit next to Iida, silently giggling to herself as she next to Tokoyami with a brief greeting and they focused on the stage again.
Below, two opponents were standing on the opposite side of each other. Sero was flexing his arms around on one side while…Todoroki was standing on the other. Her eyes focused on latter inside, silent and contemplative.
Did he…watch my stage?
"He's good! He's good, but what's with that plainness he just can't get rid of? From the hero course, it's Sero Hanta!" Present Mic's voice boomed over the stadium again, much different compared to Ume's voice from earlier.
"How mean," Hotaru sweat dropped.
"Taking second, then first in the prelims! You're way too strong, kid! He wasn't recommended for admission for nothing! Also from the hero course, it's Todoroki Shoto!"
Todoroki looked absolutely calm—or was it absolutely absentminded? He barely reacted to his entrance and—quietly, Ayame noted that he seemed to be…even more distant than usual. She leaned closer to the edge to try and get a better look while Present Mic continued to announce in the background.
"Ready… Start!"
As soon as it began, Sero's tape flew out to wrap around Todoroki. The other boy was caught into the trap as Sero swung him over the edge of the stage.
"A surprise attack aimed to push his opponent out of bounds! Don't you think that was the best choice for this situation?! Seriously, get him, Sero!"
"Isn't…this a little too biased commentary…?" Ayame mumbled.
"Against Todoroki…wouldn't it make more sense to root for an underdog?" Tokoyami asked back.
"O-oh! Y-yeah," Ayame flushed. What was she saying—Sero was her kouhai too! And—he said he would do his best to be a hero—there's no way he should stop here! "Go, Sero-kun! Do your best!"
A pair of mismatched eyes snapped upwards and all it took was a second. Ice appeared under Todoroki's right foot and sped towards Sero—going over and past him so fast that her eyes were barely able to catch the movement. One second Ayame was standing and the next—Kirishima had pulled her back before the large ice wall collided against her.
Todoroki's giant ice attack covered one half of the stadium, nearly blocking the classes view on the stage. Ayame went around the ice to peer over the railing to see Sero…stuck within the ice wall. The right side of Todoroki was covered in frost.
It's…the same as before… Ayame thought, remembering the frostbite over his arm from their training exercise. Except this time, it covered half of his body…
"Isn't this…a little too much?" Even Present Mic had asked hesitantly.
"Sero-kun, can you move?" Midnight's voice spoke up next and from what they can see, half of her body was also covered in ice.
"O-of course not…"
"Sero-kun is immobilized! Todoroki advances to the second round!"
The stadium was stunned silent before someone began to shout words of encouragement. The words of 'don't mind!' filled the stadium as they comforted Sero. Amongst the thousands of voices echoing the stadium, Ayame was not one of them.
She watched as Todoroki walked over to Sero, his left arm raised to melt the ice. Steam sizzled from both his Quirks and in the cloudy ambiance, Ayame only saw Todoroki. Standing alone…undoing one aftermath of his Quirk with the side he hated the most.
For some inexplicit reason, Ayame only felt sad. Surrounding by the echoing words of 'don't mind', she wondered if those words even reached his ears. She couldn't even recall the anger she felt at him from over an hour ago. Ayame couldn't think of anything else or even realized Midoriya was silently staring at her back.
In that moment, she wanted to go up to Todoroki and simply—hold his hand.
A/N:
Oops I'm cheesy.
To clarify some things up: No, Takarada absolutely cannot make Ayame demote but he used it to threaten her and hold it against her in the future. I truly love my OCs, btw, and will defend Takarada and Yuu. I can understand and see how jerkish Takarada is but…the sports festival arc isn't over yet!
I honestly hope the second-year's battle was exciting! I know Yuu or Takarada seems OP but honestly…aren't Todoroki and Bakugo pretty OP too. There are still setbacks for their Quirk overuse and there is still the tournament battle to go through!
Thank you all for the constant reviews. It's honestly been helping me so much to write the next chapter out. Also motivates me to draw, too! So please continue to send some love. Thank you!
P.S. Also just survived my wedding and it was amazing! Now it's time for me to pass out for 24 hours