Thanks for 100 followers, everyone. This story doesn't grow all that fast compared to others but that's okay. Those of you who ARE reading and showing support mean a lot to me. I hope I can keep writing it for you all.
With that being said, this chapter...is a toughie. I'll say now as a warning: it ends on an emotionally confusing note.
Chapter 16: The Queen and the Jester
"Goodness, boy," Recovery Girl mumbled as she scanned Doko's arms, legs, and face. "What on earth cut you up like this?"
"Thorns. Oh, actually those on the wrist are from a shadow monster."
She sighed. "You know you've been working too long when hearing THAT doesn't surprise you. These are easily healable, at least." She gave him a kiss, and the cuts healed up quite cleanly. "Hmm..." the healer heroine scanned him over with a few more instruments, and then sat back. "Your muscles and tendons seem to be quite stiff and exhausted."
"This is the most I've ever used my Quirk in one day before," Doko explained.
"Right. I wish you were out of the tournament by now, but I know hot-blooded boys don't like to hear that. Just try and take your remaining fights more easily and work on improving your stamina. Also...well, maybe I shouldn't tell you this right now..."
Doko raised his eyebrows. "What? What is it?"
Recovery Girl seemed to consider a moment, and then shook her head. "Nothing. After the festival, perhaps. You need your focus."
Doko relaxed. "Sure enough." If it was something medically related to him, he DID want to know, but she had a point about it being a distraction.
He stood up to leave the infirmary as Recovery Girl moved over to do Ibara Shiozaki's checkup. The vine girl watched him go. When he caught her eye, she smiled. Awkwardly, Doko gave her a two-fingered wave and a half-smile before leaving.
...
Doko arrived back at the box as Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's fight was wrapping up. Just as he sat down, they knocked each other out.
"Oop. Holy shit," Sero breathed, as the crowd went silent.
"You must be joking," snorted Kaminari.
Jiro scoffed. "Those idiots."
Sato had stars in his eyes. "Incredible."
What followed was an explanation of procedure in the event of a draw. The two manly men would have a rematch...after the last qualifying battle.
The others seemed to notice Doko's return.
"Katayama, nice job!" Ojiro patted him on the back.
"You managed to overcome her weaknesses as well as some of your own, it seemed," Iida complimented.
Midoriya just smiled proudly at him.
"Yeah, plus you managed to get her to like you, I think," complained Kaminari. "The crowd seemed to eat it up. I'm obligated to be proud, but also angry."
Jiro chopped him on the head. "You're an annoyance."
"But you saw it toooo! There was so much chemistry between them! They produced more sparks than I do! The media's gonna be all over it!"
Jiro might have blushed for a moment, but then she turned back to Doko. "Those Class B jerks were talking you down the whole time, by the way." She pointed an earplug to the wall dividing the boxes. "Specifically the blonde twat and the one who just got knocked out by Kirishima. Their class pres came 'round and sorted em out. She seemed alright."
"Huh?" Doko furrowed his eyebrows. "They were talking me down?" His anxiety seemed to spike.
Worry must have shown on his face, because Jiro waved a hand as if to calm him. "It's just because you happened to be the one going up against their star classmate. I don't think it was you specifically they were targeting. But Shoji came to your defense. Kinda surprising. You've got good friends there."
Doko turned to Shoji, Sero, Hagakure, and Tsu. "Thanks, guys. For that and for the support. I heard you all from down there."
Shoji nodded. "Their behaviour was unbefitting for heroes in training. I had to put a stop to it."
"Mina won her match, by the way," Hagakure told Doko. "You two will be fighting in the quarterfinals!"
Doko scratched his arm nervously. "I'm quivering." I still can't believe she kissed me. Was that just to mess with me? I mean, as much as I'd love to believe she does like me back, I have to entertain other possibilities. Don't want to get my hopes up that high.
It may have just been to psyche me out before our match, he thought darkly. If she saw how I hesitated against Shiozaki she might be planning to use her...female-ness, somehow.
Get a grip, Katayama. Do you have any idea how dense you sound? Just forget it for now, you're too clueless to work at any sort of deduction. Idiot.
"Hmm, Mina-chan should be back soon, ribbit." Tsuyu's big eyes scanned the back row of the box, where the door was. "I know she didn't want to miss Ochaco-chan's match."
"Oh yeah, Uraraka's fighting Bakugo, huh?" Doko leaned forward, to where Midoriya and Iida were sitting. "She got a plan of some sort?"
The two boys that were closest to the brunette looked oddly at each other, then back to Doko. "She s-said she had one," Midoriya sputtered. "When went d-down to see her, I m-mean." Where'd this guy's confidence from before go? "I was going to give her some advice like I wanted to g-give you, Katayama, but she ref-fused it."
Just then, Mina came back. "Heeyyy, everyone!" she sang. Doko went stiff, feeling heat rush to his face.
"Hey, Ashido."
"Good work, Ashido!"
"Well done, ribbit."
Mina slid back into the second row and plopped herself down next to Doko, grinning with glowing eyes. "Did you see any of it, Doko? Hmm?" She scooted up against him, causing their shoulders and hips to touch.
Doko looked down at his feet, embarrassed at the situation. "Sorry...no. I just got back at the end of the seventh fight."
She pouted. "Rude. I guess I'm gonna have to kick your ass even harder, then." Her fingers danced up his arm teasingly, and she scooted herself even deeper into him. She's really soft. Argh. What is happening to me.
No one else in the box seemed to be paying attention to them, though. They were all looking down at the platform, where Bakugo and Uraraka were exchanging words. Doko wished he knew what they were saying. What could the two of THEM possibly have to talk about?
"What was the plan you were going to tell her, by the way?" Iida asked Midoriya.
"Well..." Midoriya looked down at the two opponents. "It wasn't anything all that special. Kacchan has incredible natural power, and no real openings. His reflexes and sense for combat are practically a Quirk in themselves, and since his explosions come from his sweat, he gets more powerful the more he moves. Uraraka, on the other hand...if she touches him once, she wins. With those things in mind, the best option for her is..."
"EIGHTH MATCH, START!" Present Mic yelled.
"...a swift attack!" Midoriya finished, just as Uraraka dashed forward, crouched low toward the ground. The crowd gasped.
Bakugo's eyes widened, and he set off an explosion in-between them. Uraraka disappeared in fire and smoke.
"Ah!" Hagakure squeaked, appearing to cover her eyes. "I'm so scared for Ochaco!"
"Is Bakugo TRYING to kill her?" Jiro demanded sharply.
"Surely not even Bakugo would stoop to something so low!" Iida declared.
Midoriya clicked his teeth. "Weeeelll..."
As the smoke cleared around Bakugo, Uraraka's gym uniform became visible, and he blew an explosion at it...but then Uraraka herself came round from the back, now just in a black tank top. The crowd whooped in shock. "Whoa!" Mina suddenly sat up in surprise, allowing Doko to breathe a little easier.
Bakugo whirled in an instant and blew her away anyway, and the crowd all winced collectively. "Like I said," Midoriya squeaked. "His reflexes are superhuman."
Uraraka tried again and again to touch Bakugo, but he stayed in the same spot, blowing her away with an explosion each time. She was clearly getting more and more worn out and injured with each attack. The crowd was rising in fury.
"Hey, buddy! Stop standing there and hurting her like that!"
"If you want to win, attack and throw her out!"
"Playing with the poor girl is not hero behaviour at all!"
"Was that a pro hero who just said that?" Aizawa's voice through the mic. "How long have you been a pro? If you really believe what you just said, you should consider a different career. Bakugo is being careful because he's acknowledged the strength of his opponent and doesn't want to give her an opening by attacking recklessly."
Doko looked at Bakugo's face. He looks cool, focused. There's no anger or sadism there. He...he DOES respect her.
More than I can say for Todoroki. But still, even so...Doko looked down at Midoriya's burnt notebook, now tucked away under his seat again. Someone does need to put you in your place too.
Uraraka ended up trying to use all the debris Bakugo had broken off the platform with his explosions. She'd been periodically floating it all up above the arena and had it rain down like a meteor shower. Even still, the explosion user blew it all away, seemingly effortlessly. Uraraka was blown back yet again.
"Oh no," Yaomomo gasped.
"Holy shit," murmured Sero.
"Arrgh!" Mina yelped and wrapped herself around Doko's arm, as if frightened. Doko gave her a annoyed side glance. Taking another opportunity to psyche me out, when Uraraka is out there suffering? Really?
Uraraka tried to get up and attack again, but collapsed. Midnight came out and pronounced her unable to continue. Bakugo had won.
"Mina," Doko said plainly as the crowd and Present Mic reacted to the results noisily. "Could you please get off of me now?"
Mina did so, although she gave him a confused glance. From behind them, Tsuyu watched carefully, although neither of them noticed.
"What?" the acid user asked him, forming an uncertain smile. "Do you not like it?"
"You're trying to psyche me out before we fight, and it's not going to work."
Mina's dark eyed widened. "That's...not..."
"Do you realise what these results mean?" he asked her. "Whichever of us wins has to go up against either Kirishima, aka the guy who kicked my ass in the battle trial, and your childhood friend, or Tetsutetsu, the guy with the same power as Kirishima, or Bakugo. Bakugo."
Mina swallowed. "You've gotten...all serious about this now, haven't you?" She attempted another grin and a chuckle, but there was fear in her eyes.
Doko shrugged. "You saw what just happened." Uraraka was being half-carried out by medical bots, while Cementoss repaired the decimated fighting platform. "This is the top. The only people who get this far are..." he swallowed. "The most serious people."
"But..." Mina laid a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't teasing or flirtatious, but comforting. "Remember. Whatever happens, we have no hard feelings! We're both gonna go in and do our best!"
"Of course." He smiled at her, and they turned away from each other, satisfied. The kiss was not addressed.
Kirishima beat Tetsutetsu in an arm wrestling match, meaning he'd be moving on to fight Bakugo.
"The qualifiers are over!" Present Mic announced. "That means it's time to begin the quarterfinals! The first match will be...Izuku Midoriya versus Shoto Todoroki!"
Doko froze. He'd forgotten all about this.
Midoriya stood, silent as a grave, and trudged out of the box. Class A all exchanged uncomfortable glances. Todoroki had left long ago.
"Forget our match," Mina whispered. "Whatever's about to happen...is the real big deal of the day."
Gulping, Doko could only agree.
...
"Welp," commented Sero. "That...was insane."
"My body feels all tingly," Kaminari said. "Todoroki made it super cold, but then he did that flash-explosion thing. Now I don't know whether I'm hot or cold."
"The answer is stupid," Jiro told him.
"What a display of power!" Sato gushed. Kirishima nodded. "Even though Todoroki won, Midoriya got him to use his flames so the match would be at its manliest! Mad respect there!"
Bakugo shot the redhead a glance, and then snorted. "Tsk. Stupid Deku. He played himself by making Icy-Hot mad at him. What's so impressive about that?"
Doko had a lot to think about. Not only had Todoroki wanted to win without considering other people's feelings, he wanted to do it with only half his damn Quirk. What an ass.
But...Midoriya's almost like a hero of heroes, isn't he? Helping me, trying to help Uraraka, even helping his own damn opponent. I really wish he'd won, but he probably wouldn't have been able to continue with all those broken bones.
"Is there anything you'd like to share with the class?" Tsuyu muttered at him dryly.
"Huh? Ah! No!" Doko jumped.
"You were really deep in thought, ribbit."
"As if you aren't. All the time," he shot back at the frog girl.
"New drinking game," said Sero, grinning. "Take a shot every time Asui makes an observation about someone without their permission."
"I wouldn't want any of you to get alcohol poisoning, ribbit. Also I told you to call me Tsu."
"Oh right. Sorry...Tsu. But anyway, Midoriya did way better against Todoroki than I could have."
"Yes," said Shoji, "but you also did not break your body."
"He won't be back up here for a while, I'd guess," said Doko. "Recovery Girl has some work to do." Uraraka and Iida had left to go check on him, as well as fight in the next match in Iida's case.
"Next match is Iida vs Tokoyami," said Ojiro.
"Ooooh," Hagakure whistled. "That's interesting."
Doko shuddered. "I'm glad Tokoyami wasn't in my bracket."
Mina grinned. "Scared of Dark Shadow?"
"I got enough Dark Shadow to last an entire lifetime during the cavalry battle."
She shrugged. "I guess I'd throw acid at it. Maybe it would burn it, maybe not. Plus it's really fast, but..."
"Wait," Doko gave her a look. "Are you planning to hit me with acid?"
She smirked. "The Queen never tells."
...
Tenya Iida stepped out of the tunnel.
"He embarrassed himself last match, let's see if he can turn it around! From the hero course, it's Tenya Iida!"
Cheers of course, but laughter as well. Tenya felt frustrated. He'd been trying his hardest to compete with Midoriya, and now he'd gotten farther in the tournament than his friend...but Midoriya had gained respect in the eyes of many, while he remained a laughingstock. What would his brother think? Tensei...I still have a chance to make you proud.
"And his opponent, offense and defense in one body! From the hero course, the dark samurai Fumikage Tokoyami!"
A lot of cheers erupted for him. Dark Shadow had become something of a festival favourite, it seemed. Tokoyami was unassuming on the outside but powerful, meaning he had a chance to be a real dark horse in the higher matches. That made him popular, Tenya supposed. Not to mention how he wiped the floor with the girl who came first in the Quirk assessment. Tokoyami was a formidable opponent. But unlike Hatsume, he had a semblance of honor. Which meant Tenya was looking forward to this match.
He called across to the boy with the bird head. "Tokoyami-san. Let us have a fair fight."
His opponent nodded. "Indeed. You are a noble adversary, Iida."
Midnight squealed. "Ohhh, I'm just so excited for this! Are we ready?"
"Aye."
"Ready," said Tenya. Dark Shadow is fast, but I am faster. I will trick him by running right at him with my normal boost, and when Dark Shadow comes at me, skid around to the side and use my Reciproburst directly on Tokoyami. I'll push him out and end this quickly.
"Second quarterfinal, START!"
Tenya put his plan into action, boosting straight for Tokoyami. The other boy's eyes widened. "Dark Shadow!" he commanded.
The spirit came snaking out, claws outstretched to meet Tenya in the middle. "Aye, Aye!" Dark Shadow whooped. Tenya prepared to sidestep him, already charging up the Reciproburst. But as he continued the move...Dark Shadow quickly retracted toward Tokoyami.
Tenya's eyebrows rose, but it was too late. He had already begun the burst, and had no choice but to try and outrun the spirit. The creature had a massive hard start, though, and as Tenya bursted toward Tokoyami, Dark Shadow wrapped itself around its host like a protective shield. Tenya hit them hard, knocking them back a few meters, but not achieving the push he'd wanted. Quick! I only have ten seconds before my engines stall!
When Dark Shadow realised Tenya's charge had ended, he attacked for real, reaching out with his shadowy claws to strike at Tenya's face. Tenya leapt and did a sweeping kick at the spirit, but the thing ducked low...and grabbed him by his ankles.
Tenya was suddenly swept upside down, his engines sputtering and stalling. No! No, dammit!
Dark Shadow threw him past the line.
"Iida is out of bounds!" Midnight declared. "Tokoyami advances to the semifinal!"
Tenya sat up, grimacing, aching from the impact. "Arrrgh." He rubbed his glasses in frustration. "You got the best of me; you saw right through my plan. How?"
Dark Shadow hovered next to its host, as if they stood together. "We learned from the cavalry battle," Tokoyami said. "You used the same move to zoom past us and take the headband. I figured you might try something similar to get to me, so I had Dark Shadow make a feint attack and then immediately fall back to shield me. Then I had him go for your legs." The bird boy bowed. "It was a good strategy, though. Well fought."
Tenya had no choice but to bow back. He is a respectable person, and clever too. I hope he gives Todoroki a challenge.
"Well done, kid!" someone shouted.
"Yeah, don't worry about it!"
"There's always next year!"
Tenya sniffed. They were talking to him.
"Damn, I feel bad for the guy..."
"Yeah, the girl from before just played with him. He seems pretty powerful, though."
"He won his team the cavalry battle with that charge if you ask me."
The comments from the crowd and the pros helped a little, but Tenya couldn't help feeling defeated. Tensei...what will he think of me?
I think I'll give him a call.
...
"And now!" Present Mic sang. "The third quarterfinal. On this side, Class 1A's bubbly bubblehead! Don't let her get too handsy if you know what's good for ya...from the hero course, it's Mina Ashido!"
Shota sighed. "That was not appropriate."
"What? I was talking about her Acid!"
Ashido came strutting out of the tunnel, pointing at the crowd and positively beaming. The spectators were going wild for her. Shota didn't usually think about these things, but Ashido was made to be a popular hero. Her looks were instantly recognisable, and she seemed to thrive on attention.
"And on the other side, poor guy! He keeps having to fight girls despite being so nice! From the hero course, it's Doko Katayama!"
Shota was surprised at how Katayama had progressed today. Earlier in the day he'd been thinking about how to properly make the boy move forward in future classes, but he seemed to be working it out somewhat on his own, having made it this far. And he was waving and smiling too, engaging with the crowd.
Of course. He hasn't figured it out on his own; he's got friends to help him. These two are somewhat close, aren't they? At least, as close as two high school students could be after only a few weeks. If they start getting all lovey-dovey in MY classroom, there will be hell to pay.
"What are you grumbling about, Eraser Head? That's two of your students out there! Be supportive!"
"Yeah, yeah." Shota leaned forward to watch.
...
Mina met Doko's eyes with the center of the platform halfway between them. The whole arena seemed to swallow them up. The space was terrifyingly freeing and oddly intimate all at once. And of course, the crowd would be watching the whole time. Mina felt thrilled, excited.
Shiozaki may not have done it on purpose, but she gave me an idea. If I can push the two of us as romantics...the crowd, and the agencies, might eat it up! More publicity for the both of us!
Plus...she stretched her arms behind her head, not breaking eye contact with the boy across the way. I really want to beat him.
He's tired, and unfocused. I've unfocused him. It's a shame that he caught on...and that he thought that's ALL I was doing. Oh well. For a different time.
Mina had known exactly what she was doing with all that flirting. She wanted him to not be confident about this, because...deep down, she didn't really think she could beat him. His Quirk was just too amazing. But she couldn't think about that right now!
Doko's eyes finally moved to the ground, and his face turned red. I don't think he's even thought of a strategy yet. That's good.
Mina reckoned she could shoot acid about as fast as Shiozaki had shot vines, which meant it was possible to hit him...although she had to get in much closer than the vine girl. Plus, she was athletic enough to not let him just push her around if he got in close, like Shiozaki had done. If she could just land a light acid hit, burn him a little but not too badly...
She would make him lose his will to continue. There was certainly no hope in trying to knock him out of the ring. If all else fails, I'll just uppercut him like Aoyama. A bit of tough love, that's all that is!
Midnight looked between the two of them. Doko still seemed sheepish, embarrassed. "Ready?" she asked.
"Ready," the boy mumbled.
"As ever!" Mina reported, saluting the heroine.
"Third quarterfinal, start!"
"What's with the red face?" Mina asked him, loudly. "Still thinking about that kiss I gave ya?"
The crowd heard, and many of them gasped. Doko looked up at her in shock...and Mina skated toward him, sliding quickly on her acid.
She closed the distance, and not until she reached out and began to spray her hand acid did he warp backward, keeping away from her attack. As I thought, no one wants to get burned. She kept up the offensive, skating after him and shooting out sprays. He kept warping back and sideways, circling her and avoiding her. When she realised they'd just swapped places from the initial position, she hesitated a moment.
Doko's face was red as a tomato. "Why would you tell them about that?" he asked her, not very loudly.
The crowd was whistling and whooping.
"KISS?" Present Mic yelled. "WHATEVER IS SHE TALKING ABOUT? WE THOUGHT THERE WERE SPARKS FLYING BETWEEN KATAYAMA AND HIS LAST OPPONENT, BUT IT SEEMS WE SAILED OUR SHIP TOO EARLY!"
"Who's we?" Aizawa complained.
"DAMMIT!" Kaminari shouted, followed by the sound of a slapping earplug.
Mina smirked. This was all she could have hoped for, except...
Doko just stood still, watching her. His face had paled a bit, and his eyes had regained their focus. Only he did not attack.
"What's the matter?" Mina teased, although inwardly she was a little unsettled. "Afraid to hit your girrrrrlfriend?"
"GIRLFRIEND?!" Present Mic shrieked. There was chaos in the crowd, and absolute war was breaking out in the Class A and B boxes.
"Hey!" someone shouted, a dissenting voice in the din. "Stop screwing around for the cameras and fight already!"
Mina took a step toward Doko, who remained still in his defensive position. Another step. And another. He didn't do anything.
"What's the problem?" Mina asked, suddenly annoyed. "Remember our promise? To not hold back?"
"Why are you doing all this?" he asked her, keeping an infuriatingly straight face.
"Ugh! It doesn't matter! Just fight me already, jerk!" She slid towards him, shooting more acid, but he warped to the left. She threw a punch, but he avoided that too. "URGH!"
Mina skated and sprayed and punched, but all she got was air. One after the other. Doko led her on a wild goose chase in circles around the platform, ducking and sliding back and warping when necessary. He was even being frugal with the teleports, often choosing to just dodge her manually. And not once did he attack.
The crowd was beginning to notice.
"Did he lose his confidence from before?"
"Why's he just playing with her like this? He's got enough power to throw her out if he wants!"
"Hey kid! She wants you to hit her back, you know!"
"You just gonna deny your girlfriend like that?"
"DOKO!" Mina cried, getting more and more desperate with every swing. She wasn't even using acid anymore. "JUST FIGHT ME ALREADY!" He kept backstepping, keeping that same straight face on.
"WHY?" she yelled, feeling tears form in her eyes. "Why...won't...you...fight...ba...huhhh?"
She gasped, as Doko suddenly warped...forward.
Purple light filled her eyes, and Mina stumbled, confused. She had the briefest second to see that she was standing right in front of the boundary line.
Then, she felt the most rudimentary of impacts against the bend of her legs.
A kick, from behind. Doko had deadlegged her.
Mina tripped and fell...landing partially outside the boundary.
"Ashido is out of bounds!" Midnight declared. "Katayama advances to the semifinal!"
A mixture of cheering and booing erupted around the arena.
"He really was just leading her on the whole time! I wonder if that's their relationship, too?"
"What a jerk!"
"I thought it was a neat trick!"
"A cheap trick, more like!"
Mina turned over and looked up at Doko, feeling shock and disbelief.
He was smiling, and leaning down, extending a helping hand to her. "I'm so sorry, Mina," he said, his violet eyes glistening. "But two can play at the psychological game."
"What...did you do?" She didn't know if she was angry with him anymore or not. She certainly wanted to be, but...
"I had to get you near enough to the line to where I could warp through you and give you a push from behind. I knew I didn't stand a chance engaging you physically in any other circumstance. You can outpunch me, outkick me, and probably burn me too. It wasn't because I wanted to hold back. It was because I was scared of you."
Mina sniffed, her lip quivering. "You..." she grinned weakly. "You...jerk."
She stood up on her own, not taking his hand.
A bunch of "ooooohs" went up from the crowd.
Mina gave him a daring grin, her eyes alight. "I guess that makes us even, doesn't it? But just you wait. Tomorrow we're doing DDR again. Rematch, me and you." She winked, and turned on a heel, walking proudly off with her nose turned up.
...
Shota couldn't bear to watch any longer.
The crowd was in uproar. Some were laughing at Katayama for unwittingly making his "girlfriend" mad, while others were angry at him for playing with her during the fight. As Ashido walked off, Katayama stood there dumbly as the spectators continued to turn against him. Even Mic was silent for once, leaning back in his chair with an awkward grimace. I cannot let this nonsense continue.
"Are you all blind, deaf, or just stupid?" Shota spat into the mic, causing the crowd noise to sharply zip out.
"Katayama wasn't messing with her, just like Bakugo wasn't messing with Uraraka. How many times must I explain this? As I am their teacher, I have all their results from the initial Quirk assessment that we did on the first day of school. I have them right here." He shuffled through the papers. "On any event where Quirks could not come into play, Ashido outclassed Katayama entirely. The boy KNOWS this. He knew he couldn't stand up to her acid or her physicality. He wasn't leading her around because he was in control. He was on the defensive! He kept it going for so long in order to lead her to the boundary line! And as for the romance nonsense, I know my students, and I am sure this was some invention of Ashido's. Katayama certainly didn't know what she was doing, and had no plans to play into it." At least I hope.
The crowd murmured and hummed sheepishly. They seemed to still be on the fence about the whole thing.
Doko Katayama walked slowly off the platform and into the tunnel, putting an arm over his face.
"Awww..."
"Poor kid. I'd be embarrassed too."
"He's just trying to win and do well like the rest of them."
"Damn."
...
Up in the Class A box, Mina had returned.
"Yo, Ashido, you good?"
"What was the deal with all that?"
"Did you really kiss Katayama-kun?"
"I'm sorry, everyone..." she smiled as she sat down. What do I tell them? All eyes were on her.
"...No, I didn't kiss him. It was all just a show to try and throw him off and make it interesting for the cameras. I couldn't...think of another way to win."
They all seemed to accept this.
"Mm."
"Makes sense to me."
"Thank goodness. Maybe Katayama doesn't have game after all."
"Shut up, Kaminari."
"What?! I'm just saying!"
Mina leaned back in her seat, realising that eventually Doko would come back to sit next to her. Or he might move to a different seat. Or he might not come back at all.
The crowd turned against him...she'd only heard part of Mr. Aizawa's speech, but it only seemed like it had been partially effective. The spectators were all still murmuring amongst themselves.
"That match was the first that didn't really feel like it had a winner, ribbit," said Tsuyu. "And there have been some confusing matches."
"Well, the promise was kept, at least," Sero put in. "Even if the crowd might have gotten a little feisty, there's no hard feelings between us, the competitors...right?" He leaned sideways to look at Mina.
She shrugged. "I'm not upset with him, although I guess I was during the fight. Yeah, I suppose I broke the promise." She chuckled. "I HOPE he's not mad at me. I guess I kinda did embarrass him."
Tsu and Sero remained silent. Mina couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, like they were quietly blaming her. Maybe it is my fault. Doko didn't actually break his promise. I was the one who got angry, but...
He's upset too! If he's not come back, he's probably moping around somewhere!
But that's because of the crowd reaction, which is a different matter entirely. As if he'd get upset about you. He didn't even take your flirting for what it was.
He doesn't like you that way.
You came on too strong and made him uncomfortable.
He and his Quirk are so beyond you that he can defeat you while on the defensive and make it look effortless.
Mina's face twitched. She couldn't get like this right now, in front of everyone.
"I feel bad for Katayama-kun..." Toru mumbled. "He's probably just really embarrassed right now."
"I'm gonna go look for him, ribbit." Tsu got to her feet.
"I shall as well." Shoji followed her lead.
Sero turned to look at them. "Whoa, whoa, the next match is about to start! Katayama still has to fight the winner of this fight next, remember? Probably Bakugo! If he's not back here, then he probably needs some space!"
"At least, he might THINK he does," Toru corrected, standing up. "But in reality, he needs friends by his side!"
Sero winced. "That's cheesy. I still don't think you should go, but...if you find him, give him my regards."
"Understood," said Shoji.
"Guys..." Mina got up. "I'm coming too, obviously."
I hope everyone had a good holiday, by the way.
Next time: Doko faces off against the Explosion King, Katsuki Bakugo. A round of fighting, long delayed.