Chapter 6
Kaiya returned to the waiting area for her match up with Yayarouzo after lunch was over. She was still steaming from the conversation with Bakugou that she didn't realize that Todoroki was also sitting in the room. "Kaiya? Are you ok?" He asked, sensing her anger.
"Just had a heated argument with Bakugou. He's a dick." Kaiya answered with some venom in her words. The half and half teen just nodded his head in agreement. "Are you ready for your fight against Sero?" She asked, taking a deep breath to calm down.
He was giving off some tension himself when his name was called over the speaker. "I'll see you after your fight. Good luck." He murmured, exiting the room. Kaiya narrowed her eyes at her friend but kept quiet. His revelations Kaiya had heard were still in her head and couldn't shake the memory. He sounded so sad and angry and she knew those feelings well. However, she had buried them a long time ago; maybe he did too and that's why he was the way he was. How did we end up so different?
The match was about to begin when Kaiya turned her attention to the TV. One attack from Todoroki ended the fight as a giant ice sculpture engulfed Sero immediately.
"Oh my god." Kaiya gasped, amazed at the size of the glacier. "Poor Sero. He didn't have a chance."
"Ms. Ayumi? It's time for your match up already." One of their teachers said to her. Kaiya followed the teacher back to the arena and saw her opponent on the other side of the stage; stretching out her limbs in preparation.
"Please welcome to the stage, Class A's representative with a flair for elements; Kaiya Ayumi!" Present Mic talked her up as the crowd cheered. Kaiya's cheeks burned with embarrassment but all melted away as soon as Midnight started the match. Kaiya gathered a wind barrier around herself and used her left hand to break the cement beneath her. She started tossing the fragments at Yayarouzo to get her to step out of bounds. Yayarouzo looked taken aback and Kaiya could see she was thinking too hard about her attack. This is going to be easy. Yayarouzo created a shield to block the cement fragments so Kaiya took to the air and sent a tornado-like attack towards the creation teen's way. Yayarouzo braced behind her shield and began to create another weapon when Midnight called out to her.
"Yayarouzo is out of bounds! Ayumi is the winner!" Yayarouzo looked like she was close to tears as Kaiya floated back to the ground next to her.
"Are you okay?" Kaiya asked the shaking girl.
"I...I lost. So easily." She whispered, clutching her chest. Kaiya felt for the girl but she pulled Yayarouzo's hand towards her, away from the stage. The two girls ran to the tunnel and Kaiya pulled Yayarouzo into a hug out of sight.
"Never let them see you cry." Kaiya whispered to the girl who finally let tears stream down her face. "I'm sorry Yayarouzo." Kaiya didn't feel bad about winning, but she knew that Yayarouzo was proud and losing was not something she took lightly.
"I asked you not to pull punches; so I appreciate that. Thank you Ayumi." She sniffed, pulling away from the hug.
"Kaiya, please." She smiled at the crying girl. "You are very smart; but you need to think quicker though against physical attacks. I'm not a master of my Quirk by any means of course; just a little advice." Yayarouzo sniffed and thanked Kaiya truly. "Let's go sit with the other students until my next match." They linked arms and walked up the steps to the student viewing area and found a seat together next to Jirou.
"Who's up?" Kaiya asked, seeing Ururaka step up to the stage. "Oh no." Realization dawned on her as she saw Bakuguo on the opposite side of the stage. Kaiya knew this fight would be ugly, she just hoped Bakuguo didn't hurt her too much.
Bakuguo and Ururaka were fighting intensely with Bakuguo not pulling any punches for the zero-gravity girl. "Damn he is strong. And relentless." Kirishima winced as Uraraka fell hard from Bakuguo's blast.
"More like a bully." Mina grumbled to herself. Kaiya had to disagree with Mina, even though a few heroes from the audience seemed to agree with the alien girl.
"He actually is being respectful of her." Kaiya pointed out to her classmates. People turned their heads to her with curiosity. "He is a strong opponent and Uraraka knows that. He isn't pulling punches for her just because he is the better fighter." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the students as her words set in. "Besides, she's doing well herself. Look up." Kaiya smirked, noting the floating rocks above the stage. The zero gravity girl was getting slower but she had enough energy to pull her big move against Bakugou and the crowd went wild. He evaded her attack but Uraraka continued to fight on until her body just gave up.
"Poor Uraraka." Yayarouzo whispered, seeing the girl pass out in the rubble. Kaiya noticed Bakuguo looked less proud of his win as he normally would be; and she figured it had something to do with his opponent putting up more of a fight than he thought she would. "Oh no." Yayarouzo realized something as Kaiya furrowed her brows. "Bakuguo won. That means…"
"I'm up against him now." Kaiya answered for her; reality dawned on her too. "This will be interesting."
"You're up against Bakugou? That'll be a fun match!" Kirishima cheered from behind Yayarouzo and Kaiya. His wide smile made everyone laugh and the tension subsided from the previous fight.
"You'll be pulling for him I assume?" Kaiya smirked, arching her eyebrow at the boy.
"Hey, I don't play favorites!" He replied quickly.
"It's okay, I don't mind; we all have loyalties." Kaiya smiled, punching Kiri's arm slightly, earning a laugh from the boy. "It'll be a hell of a fight; I hope he realizes that I won't be beat easily." Kaiya was determined to show that she was a contender at this school, even against the best.
Todoroki sat off to the side of the viewing area, reading his opponent but couldn't help but notice Kaiya's. This will be interesting to watch. They're both very strong. Bakugou could lose it by overconfidence; but Kaiya could lose due to lack of endurance. He saw the girl talking to Kirishima with a smirk on her face, but he also saw the determination in her eyes. She wouldn't go down easy, if at all. If Bakuguo's fight with Ururaka gave away anything, it's that he does not pull punches for anyone. Todoroki saw Kaiya move to leave for the waiting room so he decided to walk with her. "Nervous?" He asked her carefully.
"Not really; more excited to show that I've gotten stronger, especially to him." She smiled at me. "Being number one isn't my priority; I just want to be the best I can be." She was stretching her hands like Todoroki had advised her earlier and cracked her knuckles.
"You're going to do great." He mumbled with a hint of blush on his cheeks.
"You're not used to giving out compliments are you?" Kaiya giggled at him, playfully nudging his shoulder.
"Is it that obvious?" He asked, rubbing his neck. Kaiya giggled again and realized they were at the waiting room. "Good luck Kaiya." His eyes met hers warmly as Kaiya tucked her hair behind her ear as she left him standing there. Todoroki stood outside the room with a warm feeling in his chest, not sure what to make of it. He had never felt this way with anyone; he kept most people at a distance. It tended to be apparent around Kaiya; but he wasn't willing to look into it too deeply; he had to focus.
"Please welcome back to the ring, a girl with many abilities as we saw with her fight against Yayorozo, a flair for elements, Kaiya Ayumi!" Present Mic announced as the crowd cheered for her. She stretched her arms and hands while Bakuguo waited for his introduction. Red eyes glared at her from across the ring as Bakuguo fired up his hands as soon as Midnight started the fight.
"Not going to take a second to breathe I see." Kaiya mumbled as she ran towards Bakugou. As usual, a big right hook started the fight, so she summoned a wind barrier to blow him off balance but he analyzed her move and quickly regained his balance and jumped at her again, blowing the ground up beside her, sending the girl back roughly. The ground was broken up now which Kaiya hoped for and she managed to get a hold of the earth. She levitated the broken fragments of the ground above her much like Ochako did and pushed them towards the explosion boy.
"You aren't going to give up easily are you?" He yelled over the cheering crowds, dodging Kaiya's earth attack.
"Now why would I do that?" Kaiya smirked, earning a growl from Bakugou. "That would make it too easy for you." Her body was already hurting due to the previous challenges, but she kept herself in check. She tossed more rock fragments at Bakugou and summoned more wind for her to get out of the way of his attack.
Todoroki watched the fight on the TV from the waiting room. Kaiya was fighting well and keeping space between herself and Bakuguo. However, he saw that she was getting tired; her movements were slowing down and her arm was shaking from overuse. "She's stronger than him...but he has more endurance." He mumbled as his teeth grinded together as a blast from Bakugou clipped Kaiya on her right rib side and sent her flying to the other side of the arena. "Come on Kaiya, get up." He whispered.
Kaiya regained her balance quickly but Bakuguo did not wait long before attacking her again. She stretched out her right hand and her water element erupted from her palms, soaking the boy in a tidal wave. The crowd gasped as they hadn't seen that element come from her yet.
"Wow! I didn't know she could work with water!" Present Mic announced over the cheers. "What more can this girl do?"
"Ayumi has kept the possibilities of her elements from her classmates since the first day of school and for good reason. She can control all the elements, but she hasn't shown them all and what she can do with them in battle. It's strategic, and Bakugou is someone who plans well in battle and attacks any kind of weakness shown. Now he has to adapt his strategy." Aizawa explained, a swell of pride in his chest as he watched Bakugou falter for a second. "She's clever."
"Alright Green Eyes, now I'm mad." Bakugou roared, firing up his blasts again. Kaiya dodged them and used a wall of broken ground to shield herself but fragments still caught her face. Blood trickled down her cheek and forehead as she tried to fight against the urge to use her last element. "You don't look so good girl." He smirked.
"It may be the only way I can beat him." She growled to herself, her right hand throbbing from overuse. Bakuguo could see her struggling hand and smirked at her through his soaked hair.
"I got you Green Eyes." He told her, sparking his palms before lunging at her. Shit, he saw that. Now or never. He charged at her and almost blasted her but she fired off a wave of flame at him, knocking him out of her line of sight as the crowd went mental.
"Fire too?" Present Mic asked loudly over the erupting cheers around the arena.
"What part of 'she can use all the elements' don't you understand?" Aizawa groaned at his co-worker.
Back in the waiting room, Todoroki froze as his left side sparked at the sight of Kaiya's flame attack. "She has fire too? Now her words on the bus to the USJ makes sense now. She's more powerful than she lets on." Through his impressed shock, Todoroki could see the fear in Kaiya's eyes; she was shaking more and she was fighting back tears; her eyes colored red as the flames roared. It almost seemed that she was in pain controlling the flame, like she didn't want to use this element unless she was desperate. Something he could understand deeply.
Bakugou regained his balance after the flame attack and saw that Kaiya was struggling to stand. Her fire was still burning from her right hand and she knew he had figured out her weakness. "You've gotten better Green Eyes, I'll give you that, a lot stronger. But your poker face needs some work." He aimed for her left side and Kaiya couldn't turn herself quick enough to stop the boy from blasting her side. She fell to the ground, clutching her bruised and burned rib cage and looked up at an approaching Bakugou.
"Tell me, what gave it away?" She groaned at the boy who was smirking down at her.
"Took a few attacks to see that you don't use your left side often, mostly just for the wind or a defensive position. I knew once you got tired, I could take you down." He smirked, hearing Midnight announce that he had won the match. "Your eyes give everything away."
"Yeah, something I still need to work on." She groaned, seeing Bakugou offer his hand to help her up, which she took gladly.
They walked together to the nurse's room, eager to heal their injuries. "What an exciting match you two! Well done!" Kaiya hung her head slightly as Recovery Girl tended to the wounds on her face. She was in pain, but the fact that she lost due to lack of endurance again, despite the intense training, hurt more than the burned rib cage.
Bakuguo was analyzing her from the other bed and sighed. "Hey, I'll deny everything if you tell anyone this, but you had me worried there Green Eyes." Bakuguo growled, holding his hand in pain. Kaiya arched her eyebrow at the boy curiously. "You were tougher to beat than I first thought you'd be."
She smirked at the boy, knowing that that was the closest thing to a compliment Bakuguo would ever get to so she took it. "Thanks. I guess your refusal to train me paid off; I was determined to show you I can do better." Bakugou couldn't help but scoff at her.
"My opinion shouldn't matter." He growled back, seeing Kaiya roll her eyes.
"Still, I won't learn until I get beaten. I shouldn't be afraid of my fire." She mumbled, earning a shocked glare from Bakugou. She widened her eyes at her realization of the confession. "I'm still mad at you for earlier, remember." She snapped suddenly, hoping to distract him from her words as she took off out of the room. Bakugou was left pondering the real strength of the girl now that she had blown her cover.
"It's like Deku all over again." He mumbled.
Kaiya took off in the direction of the viewing gallery when a loud voice stopped her. "Young Ayumi?" The strong voice sounded from the top of the stairs where she found herself. She saw the owner of the voice and witnessed the number two hero; Endeavour, glaring at her. He approached Kaiya and she stifled a whimper at his sheer presence and the heat he exuded. "You fought well today against that explosion boy. Keeping your elements hidden from your opponents was a strong power move." He said to her; his face stoic. His eyes reminded Kaiya of Todoroki on a bad day; not a hint of kindness anywhere even if his words were kind.
"Thank you sir." Kaiya responded simply, bowing her head slightly.
"I am sure you are aware of my son being in your class?" He asked as Kaiya nodded. "He possesses great strength and dedication to being the best; if he would use his left side; he'd be unstoppable. What do you think?" He was fishing for ammunition to use against his sons' rebellious behavior right now but Kaiya would not allow that to happen.
"I agree." Kaiya nodded slowly as Endeavour regarded her carefully as he could see she was thinking before responding.
"You want to say more." He stated. Kaiya debated answering honestly then realized she had nothing to lose.
"He is more than his Quirk; he is your son." Endeavour visibly froze at Kaiya's damning words. "I would do anything to have a family to call my own, someone who would care enough for me to train with me, ask me how my day went, someone to go home to." Kaiya was overstepping her own personal boundaries, but she didn't care. "And yet your son would trade his life for mine in a heartbeat. Do you not find that sad?" Endeavour looked lost for words as Kaiya sighed heavily. "I won't pretend to understand your relationship or Todoroki's reluctance to use his left side, I just wish that you would maybe see things from his point of view."
"Will you help show him his true potential? You are his friend no?" The flame hero asked carefully as Kaiya walked away.
"He is stubborn; a trait from you I am sure; but I will try to help him see it. Not for you; but for him." Kaiya said, not turning to face the hero. She briskly walked to the viewing gallery and found a seat in the front row, eager to be away from Endeavour.
A few matches went by until Todoroki and Midoriya were up. Kaiya couldn't lie and say she wasn't concerned about this fight as Midoriya knew of Todoroki's weakness for his left side and could potentially exploit that weakness like Bakuguo did with her. Kaiya was pulling at her hair until Yayarouzo and Jirou sat beside the girl and both sent a warm smile to her. "He's going to be fine." Jirou nudged her softly.
"I'm not worried." Kaiya said with a huff as the girls giggled at her in response. "I'm not; he's strong, he can defeat Midoriya." Kaiya tried to defend her concerns. "If he lets go." Kaiya whispered.
"Then what is up with the hair tugging?" Yayarouzo asked, pointing at Kaiya's stressed hair threaded in her fingers.
"Damn it, he figured that out too." Kaiya grumbled to herself, slouching in her seat.
"It's okay to be worried about the guy you're crushing on." Jirou whispered, making Yayarouzo giggle. Kaiya's face burned at the earphone jack teen.
"What? I'm not crushing on him!" Kaiya argued, shooting back up straight.
"Okay, if you say so." Jirou smiled, leaning back in her chair. Kaiya furrowed her brows but couldn't ask the earphone jack teen to explain further because the match was starting. The first of Todoroki's strong ice attacks were blocked by Midoriya breaking his fingers one by one.
"He can't honestly think he can make it through this match by breaking his bones one by one?" Kaiya asked, hearing concerned mumblings from Ochako and Iida further down the line. Midoriya was already running out of fingers and Todoroki was getting frustrated.
"You want an endurance match? Fine; I'll still beat you. Stop screwing around!" Todoroki yelled over the crowds cheering. "Did my old man bribe you to go easy? Look at him, he's furious I'm not using his fire." Todorki smirked, observing his fathers' disgruntled demeanour.
Kaiya was analyzing the fight, the determination in Midoroiya's defensive maneuvers, and Todoroki's temper. "He won't use his left side." Kaiya mumbled to herself. Yayarouzo and Jirou now looked worried as well as intrigued by the pure power of both boys' attacks.
"I didn't think Todoroki could look angry...he's normally so stoic." Jirou commented, shooting a concerned look to Momo.
"He has a lot riding on this." Kaiya told her, wringing her hands together nervously.
"You don't deserve to be number one if you don't give it all you got! You think you can win with half your strength?" Midoriya challenged the ice boy who glared back at him.
"There's ice on Todoroki's right side. Do you think he has a limit?" Yayarouzo asked Kaiya who noticed the same thing. It was like when her hands burned whenever she over used her fire, or when the muscles strained with her earth element.
"We forget that Quirks are physical things too; you run too much, you get tired, you overwork your muscles; they strain. Everyone has a limit." Kaiya explained, knowing that she reaches her limit quicker because she has four elements to handle. "If he doesn't balance out his ice, he'll slow down."
"You're right. Endurance plays a part in everyone's fights." Kaiya heard Bakugou behind her. His words pierced into her heart; knowing he was talking about their fight.
Todoroki tried to brush off his opponent's words and kept throwing ice attacks Midoriya's way to block out the boy's voice. The green haired boy managed to land a punch in Todoroki's stomach, throwing Todoroki backwards. His face was blank and Kaiya knew his mind was replaying his childhood, his mother, his reason for being here. "Come on Todoroki." Kaiya whispered, biting her lip nervously. "Show him what you can do. Who you can be." She whispered, sending her vibes out into the universe.
"You haven't put a scratch on me Todoroki!" Midoriya continued to poke at him. Todoroki's eyes focused on the dirt under him as he regained his footing. "Come at me with all you've got!"
Kaiya could sense Todoroki preparing another huge ice attack, however she couldn't keep her mumblings quiet anymore. "It's yours! Your Quirk! Not his!" She screamed over the crowd and prayed that Todoroki could hear her. His eyes glazed over until the sparks of flames lit his left side. "Yes...yes!" Kaiya cheered. Todoroki tensed but allowed the fire to consume him and he erupted into a beautiful wave of fire, a chorus of gasps echoing through the stadium. Kaiya smiled brightly at her friend and cheered along with the crowd and their fellow students as Jirou and Yayarouzo shared knowing smirks with each other. "Yes! That's it Todoroki!" Kaiya bounced up and down in glee as she saw Endeavour make his way closer to the fight; cheering for his son.
"I want to win; I'll be a hero." Kaiya heard her friend promise himself as fire erupted from him and Midoriya ran to attack him. Kaiya's heart dropped as she felt the temperature rise almost instantly and realized what was about to happen; a pure chemical reaction. "Thank you Midoriya." Todoroki smirked, letting fire take over.
"Girls, get down! It's about to get really loud and hot." Kaiya instructed the girls beside her. A second or two later the arena combusted and ice shattered everywhere.
"What the heck is up with your students?" Present Mic groaned to Aizawa as the dust settled after the attack. Todoroki stood catching his breath with half his shirt torn as he realized that Midoriya had been knocked out of bounds.
"Todoroki is the winner!" Midnight cheered as the crowd went wild. Kaiya peeked over the chairs in front of her and saw Todoroki stunned by his power and knocked out Midoriya.
Still cowering behind the stands, Jirou and Momo's eyes were wide with shock. "That was terrifying." Jirou mumbled beside Kaiya.
"That was beautiful." Kaiya replied, getting to her feet and running to the exit.
"Kaiya! Where are you going?" Kirishima asked her as brushed past him.
"I need to check on him, I'll be back!" Kaiya smiled and waved at the red head.
Kaiya ran until she saw Todoroki stalking away from his father in the tunnel towards the locker room, anger resonating from him. Kaiya let him go into the uni-sex locker room and waited until Endeavour angrily departed before she ventured in.
In the locker room, Todoroki was fuming and confused. He hated how his father still only cared about being number one; but also confused as to why Midoriya encouraged him to use his fire. "Hey, you okay?" A sweet voice sounded behind him as he discarded the torn shirt. A blush crept on his cheeks as he knew who was checking on him. Kaiya stood off to the side, shielding her eyes from the shirtless boy.
"You can look, you know." Todoroki mumbled, pulling on his extra shirt.
"Trust me, I want to. Just trying to be respectful." She smiled with a giggle; earning a blush from Todoroki.
"I think you bypassed "respectful" when you walked into the boys locker room." Todoroki pointed out with an arched eyebrow. Kaiya's eyes widened as she looked around her surroundings.
"Is this not uni-sex?" Todoroki shook his head. "Whoops." She groaned, tugging at her hair. "I'll wait outside." She whispered, turning away quickly.
"I'm already dressed Kaiya, it's okay now." Todoroki smirked, reaching for her. "I'm okay, to answer your original question. No injuries." Kaiya pursed her lips and set her hands on her hips at his stoic response. "What?"
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Todoroki gulped and averted his eyes slightly. "You may be able to hide from everyone else; not from me." He sat down on the bench and ran his hands through his hair roughly. Kaiya joined him on the bench and waited for him to speak.
"I don't know how to feel. Midoriya got under my skin about something so personal just to get me to fight at full potential. It scared me that using my fire didn't scare me. I felt...free. Like my father wasn't even a factor; I just thought of my mother telling me to be who I wanted to be when I was younger." Todoroki explained, a tear escaping his eye.
"You will be the hero you want to be. I can see that for you." Kaiya smiled, placing her hand on Todoroki's knee. He didn't tense like he normally would, Kaiya felt safe to him.
"Then I heard your voice." Todoroki whispered, scared to look at her for a moment. This time, Kaiya was the one who froze. "You got me to understand my father and I are not the same and never will be. Thank you for that." Todoroki had never spoken so softly about anything father related to someone; it was a foreign concept for him.
"I can't believe you heard me." Kaiya's eyes were soft and gentle as she spoke quietly.
Todoroki nodded and sighed heavily. "But I just don't know if I can use my fire again." Kaiya almost spoke up but the crackle of the intercom interrupted her.
"Todoroki, please make your way to waiting room A." A voice sounded over the intercom. The pair shared a small smile then Todoroki cleared his throat.
"I must go." Kaiya nodded and watched him exit the locker room.
"You aren't him. You're so much more." She called out to Todoroki as he turned and shared an understanding look with her. On his walk to the waiting room, he was battling Kaiya's words and every fiber of his hatred for his father. I don't know what to do. Midoriya really messed with my head.
Kaiya exited the locker room and took a deep breath. Maybe Jirou was right and there was something sparking between Todoroki and herself; but it was a foreign concept to her. Todoroki wasn't one to let people in; that much she knew for sure; so why did he let Kaiya in? Touch his knee? Speak so openly about his trauma? Her head was spinning with scenarios as she found herself back in the viewing area for the final battle.
Bakuguo and Todoroki started off strong with their attacks; but Kaiya saw that something was holding Todoroki back; a shadow over him pulled his concentration. Bakuguo sensed the same thing as he was getting more and more frustrated with his opponent.
"Fight me with all you have! If you don't want to win, why are you even here?" He roared at Todoroki, who stood strong against any attacks thrown his way. "I want there to be no doubt that I'm the best student at the festival! That is only possible if you fight with everything you had against Deku!" It looked as if Todoroki was second guessing everything he did; his fight with Midoriya must have got to him and he refused to use his fire again. Kaiya grinded her teeth in frustration because they couldn't talk more about this before in the locker room.
"He's confused. He doesn't know what to do; what is right for him." Kaiya mumbled, catching Yayarouzo's attention. "His father and Midoriya got into his head…" Yayarouzo clutched her chest and realized what her friend was saying. "He's going to lose, he's going to throw the fight."
As the words left Kaiya's mouth, Bakuguo sent his Howitzer attack to Todoroki and his opponent didn't fight back. As the dust settled, Todoroki lay on the remainder of his ice attack completely knocked out. Bakuguo grabbed him and started yelling at him to get up but Midnight knocked him unconscious. "Bakugou is our winner!" She called out, earning cheers from the audience.
Kaiya sighed heavily and ran her hand through her hair. "That annoys me. He should have won if not for….ugh fuck this." Kaiya grumbled, exiting the viewing area. Endeavour found her on her way to the podium eliciting a groan from the elemental teen.
"He should have won that fight." He grumbled to Kaiya, crossing his arms.
"I agree." Kaiya replied curtly, stifling a yawn. The flame hero narrowed his eyes at her tone and glared down at Kaiya.
"Why didn't he use his fire?" He growled.
"Ask him yourself. I'm not exactly thrilled with him either." Kaiya snapped, walking away from the flame hero. Ignoring who she was speaking so rudely to, Kaiya found herself walking to the arena again for the award ceremony.
Anger bubbled inside Kaiya as she took her place on the podium as third place. Bakago was struggling in his restraints like a rabid dog, screaming some vulgarities. Kaiya also cast a glare at Todoroki who stood on the other side, deep in thought and probably disappointment in himself. All Might made his appearance to award the students with their medals and approached Kaiya with a bronze medal.
"Congratulations Young Ayumi! You did well even without full understanding of your elements. You have so much potential; you'll get there." He instructed, enveloping her in a hug. "Don't beat yourself up because you feel you're not as strong as you want to be."
"Yes sir." Kaiya replied, feeling the weight of the medal around her neck. She saw Todoroki accept his medal and a hug as well and smirked at the struggle All Might was having giving Bakago his medal. The ceremony was quick and to the point which Kaiya was glad for. All she wanted to do right now was go back to the training facility and nurse her wounds, and her pride for losing. Kaiya tore off towards the exit, aware that Todoroki was watching after her. He'd have to stew in his own disappointment, without her. She was too angry at him for letting his disdain for his father control his fight.
Cleaning the training center that night was easier than most as everyone was at the festival all day; so Kaiya showered and lay in her make-shift cot once she was done cleaning and pulled out her phone. She had multiple ignored texts from Todoroki and some from the girls wondering where she had disappeared to after the awards ceremony.
"I need to talk to you. It's not like you to just run off." Todoroki's last message read. Kaiya's fingers brushed over the keyboard before she finally gave in to a reply.
"Meet me tomorrow before class. I'll explain." Simply texted. Kaiya groaned as her phone buzzed immediately and saw Todoroki's quick reply.
"I feel as if I'm in trouble." Kaiya couldn't help but smirk at his innocent comment; maybe he wasn't so dense. It was true, he was in trouble with her; whether he would see her point of view though was the question.
"Debatable. Goodnight." Kaiya smirked as she knew he would be pondering what it was that was bothering her all night and she realized that maybe she was more influential to Todoroki than she cared to admit.