Chapter 11: The Cavalry Battle
Name: Luna
Quirk: Bast – She can assume the abilities of any cat, from regular housecats and lions to hybrids such as ligers and tigons. Her quirk is named after Bast, the Egyptian goddess of cats.
Appearance: Though usually taking on appearances of the cats' abilities, her usual look has been compared as eerily similar to a character of the anime RWBY known as Blake, however she has a tail, and they are complete opposites in terms of personality and choice of dress. She's 14.
Warning: Language and Adult Themes
"Those at the top will suffer more. You hear this many times as you attend U.A. This is what "Plus Ultra" means! Izuku Midoriya, who placed first in the qualifier, is worth ten million points."
Everyone turned to face Midoriya, looking at him like a pack of wolves might look at an injured sheep. Even Luna looked at him with a predatory glance, realizing that this festival is not about the friendships you have, but what you can do to push yourself out there and make yourself known.
"Now then, I will explain the rules of the cavalry battle. The time limit is 15 minutes. Each team is worth the total of its members' points, and the rider will wear a headband with that number on their foreheads. Teams will try to grab each other's headbands until the time runs out and try to keep as many points as they can. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up. So, the more you steal, the harder it will be to manage them! And the most important thing is that even if your headband gets stolen, or if your team falls, you're not out!"
Luna heard her classmates begin to mutter amongst themselves, while Luna began to sweat slightly. She never played cavalry growing up; it was unheard of in Canada, and in Japan, well. She was too quiet and intimidating to ask to play, so she usually just spent her lunch in the library. Oh, she heard what the gossip girls said, sure, but she didn't really care.
"During the game, it will be a cruel fight where you can use your Quirks. But it is still a cavalry battle. You'll get a red card for attacks that are trying to make people fall on purpose! You'll be removed immediately!"
"Damn." Muttered Bakugo, and a smile appeared a split second on her face before disappearing.
"Now, you have 15 minutes to build your teams, starting now!"
As students began to walk around and form teams, Luna found herself frozen in place, nervously thinking. Luna was what many would call an introvert by heart; she always found it nerve wracking speaking to new people, but she was fine once she got to know them. Soon the timer began to whittle away, going from 15 minutes to 10 to finally 5 before Luna finally managed to force herself to move.
She didn't wander long before Todoroki approached her with Yaoyorozu behind him.
"Luna-chan, do you have a team already?" he asked.
"No, not yet. It's kind of hard for me to socialize with people, you know?"
He deadpanned "You can face and fight a bunch of villains, but talking to regular high school students is what terrifies you?" Even Yaoyorozu held a hand to her mouth to prevent Luna from seeing her smile.
"That's different! Anyways, did you want to ask something?"
"Yeah. Join my team and be our rider. Your reflexes are fast, your mind is sharp, and you can freely transform in the blink of an eye, denying opponents the opportunity to grab the headband. You'd be great at stealing other team's headbands as well, and we technically don't really need to, since our point total would be pretty high. The only one we'd be going for is the ten million points."
Luna's cheeks heated up a bit from the compliments that were so carelessly given to her but nodded. "Y-Yes, sure. I'd be willing to join your team. Who's going to be the horse, then?"
"I'll talk to Iida-san. And call me Shoto. In the battle, it would take forever to call me by my family name."
"Of course. Though, if you're going to let me call you by your first name, you might as well just call me Luna, then. No honorifics required or anything, it's only fair." Luna swore she heard George Michael's Careless Whisper playing in her head and scowled that it was probably Bast who set it up. When Luna got her hands on that cat, her vengeance would be terrifying. The saxophone slowly faded away, and Luna's face lightened.
He nodded, and the three made their way to Iida, who was thinking deep thoughts and was completely oblivious to them when they first appeared.
"Iida-san?" asked Yaoyorozu hesitantly seeing the boy in a trance. He snapped out of it when he realized she was talking to him.
"Yaoyorozu-san. Hello. I'm assuming you're asking me to join your team?"
"Well, it's Shoto's team, but yes. Are you available?"
Iida glanced over his shoulder at Midoriya and Uraraka, who were watching him with slightly hurt looks. Luna realized he probably refused to join their team, but Luna could understand. She pat his shoulder, and when he looked at her, his eyes flashed in thanks and understanding.
"I would be honored to."
"Great. Just call me Shoto; it's faster than saying my family name." Iida nodded in understanding, and they went up to Midnight, who calculated their point total was 720, and gave the headband to Luna. She put it on, and found it slightly scratchy, but it was a snug fit.
"Luna, when you transform, your clothes do too, right? What happens if you transform with a headband?" Todoroki asked.
"It should transform just the same but let me check." Luna transformed into a black housecat, and to her surprise, the headband didn't transform with her. Instead, it merely shrunk with her. She transformed back to her normal human form, and the headband grew back to its original size.
"Well, that works just as well. It would be incredibly hard for someone to try to grab it from you in the heat of battle, wouldn't it?"
"Kind of weird that it didn't transform with me. Either I can't do it with all clothing, or it was specifically designed this way." Luna thought it would be incredibly awkward if she transformed one day and her clothes didn't. That would be an interesting conversation.
"For your sake, let's hope it was just the headband." Yaoyorozu stated, and Luna laughed.
Luna's gaze drifted to the commotion going on around Midoriya and Uraraka, and she saw the gadget girl speaking to them.
A foghorn blared, and Luna flinched slightly at the loud noise. Why does everything have to be so loud?
"Now then, it's about time to get started!" Midnight said, stretching. For what, Luna had no clue. It's not as if she was participating.
"After 15 minutes to form teams and talk strategy, twelve cavalry teams are lined up on the field!" Present Mic exclaimed.
"There are some interesting teams out there." Observed Aizawa quietly.
"Now, raise those battle cries! It's time for U.A.'s bloody battle! Light the signal fire!"
As Present Mic was shouting, Luna was hoisted onto everyone's shoulders. Thankfully, she was pretty light, and would only get lighter once danger was near.
The plan was quite simple, really. They would go after Midoriya's team, and it was Luna's job to swipe it while he wasn't looking. That shouldn't be too hard; while Midoriya's reflexes were pretty good, Luna was basically on another level thanks to the cat inside her. Should anyone threaten her headband, or the ten million once she got it, it was her job to transform into the smallest cat she could. Thankfully, Luna had one lined up for the job. The smallest cat species in the world; the rusty spotted cat.
Weighing only up to three pounds, it was tiny. Native to Sri Lanka and India, this small cat mainly hunts bugs and small rodents to live. Though it was quite difficult for Luna to shrink herself to that size when she first began to train her Quirk, it was about as easy as transforming into most other cat species. Most recognized the cat from the famous BBC clip.
This was another ace up her sleeve, and Luna really didn't want to reveal it, though she knew she was all too likely to be forced to use it.
"Yes!" cried Dark Shadow, and Luna realized she never asked Tokoyami if he had a name. Regardless, Luna was very interested in Midoriya's final addition to his team. Dark Shadow was a lot faster than most, and even Luna would struggle to keep up with the thing. This would make things a lot trickier, but Luna thought she could do it. Her plan would require a bit of luck, but it was realistic.
"Can you take the headband with Tokoyami's Quirk blocking you?" asked Todoroki.
"Yes, I believe so. It'll require your help, but I'll let you know what it is when we're in position; it's not too complicated. He nodded, and Luna licked her lips in anticipation. This would be a very interesting 15 minutes.
As the signal fire was being lit, Luna went over Todoroki's plan one last time.
"I chose you three because I thought it would be the most stable formation. I'll be in charge of the right wing, keeping everyone away with my ice. Yaomomo, you'll be in charge of the left wing. You're also in charge of insulation and assisting with defense and movement. You'll be Luna's last line of defense, so to speak. Iida, you'll be in front as the main source of mobility and physical defense. Luna will obviously be the rider; she's the lightest, and the most able to adapt to danger should it get past everyone. She's informed me that she will transform into a rusty-spotted cat once in imminent danger, so we shouldn't collapse once most of her weight is gone, and vice versa. It only weighs three pounds, so make sure not to crush her underfoot should she fall." Everyone nodded, suddenly serious. This was the real deal; another test to show off their capabilities to the world.
"May I clarify one thing, Shoto?" asked Iida "Are you going to use your ice in tandem with your fire?"
"No. In battle, I will never use my left side." He squeezed his hands into fists, and he looked into the crowd. I followed his gaze and realized he was looking at a massive, flaming individual. His father.
Even from a distance, Endeavor radiated strictness and disappointment, and Luna subconsciously found herself drawing similarities between him and her own father. Her eyes narrowed into slits in distaste, but said nothing, for Todoroki's sake. She wondered what happened between the two, but Luna thought she could guess.
The monitor in the stadium began to buzz, stating 'On your marks! Ready?'
The crowd began to cheer as the match was about to begin, and Luna began to focus on her surroundings, ears turning to and fro. Her hearing would be the most valuable asset she had; while for most, the many sounds might be overwhelming, Luna was able to narrow her hearing to around ten meters or so, everything else buzzing slightly. She had managed to clear her ears before the match from the dried blood, and Yaoyorozu had been kind enough to give her a few aspirin and some good soundproof earplugs, once she was fully rested of course. Luna took them gratefully.
"All right, you made your teams, right? I'm not gonna ask if you're ready or not! Now, let's go! Counting down to the brutal battle royal! Three! Two! One!"
"Start!" Midnight cried, brandishing her whip.
Immediately, Iida directed them towards a few other teams. The plan was to at first go after a few other headbands first, then go after Midoriya once they got a few. They first went after a few Class 1-B's first. The first group they went after was a duo. The rider had the attributes of a praying mantis, with two fangs protruding from around his mouth and a green mohawk. His front hands were replaced with the claws of a praying mantis, and Luna saw a few blades hidden in them. The girl that had the boy on her shoulders had soft, blue-green eyes and long horns that rose from her golden hair; Luna was reminded of a cow.
Regardless, they soon closed the distance between them, and while they were distracted chasing someone else, Luna quickly snatched the headband before anyone noticed. It wasn't worth much, about 105 points or so, but it was a nice addition to their points. They shot away from the two, and a few moments later, she heard a hiss of alarm from the boy as he noticed the headband was gone, now safely tied around Luna's neck. Not that he knew. Absently, Luna heard Present Mic's commentary.
"Fighting has broken out over the 10 million headband! Ignoring the ten million points and going for second to fourth place isn't bad, either!"
Todoroki decided to just go for a big point group and then focus on Midoriya's team, and they shot away to chase the obnoxiously loud class 1-B student who challenged Bakugo when he did the 'pledge'. Luna would later found find out that his name is Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and his Quirk was very similar to Kirishima's. However, at that point, she didn't really care. They tried to sneak up on them, but they noticed, and instead began to chase after Luna's headbands.
The two cavalry teams played a dangerous game, each going on the offensive and refusing to back down. Luna and Tetsutetsu hissed and fought each other bitterly, with Luna doing barely any damage to his steel skin, and Tetsutetsu not able to land a single hit. Meanwhile, the rest were fighting as well.
The boy in front, whose mouth was similar to a skeletons, kept liquifying the ground, trying to trap them, but Todoroki countered by freezing the ground, stalemating them. The girl with vines for her hair was attacking them, but Yaoyorozu pulled out a flamethrower and was burning the vines, while simultaneously shooting the flames at the girl. Luna wasn't exactly sure how a literal flamethrower was allowed in a school sports festival, but Luna just shrugged; Yaoyorozu was one of the most responsible and careful people she knew. If you couldn't trust her with a flamethrower, you couldn't trust anyone. The third boy in the back didn't attack at all, but instead his focus seemed to be keeping his hands on the backs of the girl and Tetsutetsu. Luna assumed he had some sort of fusing or welding Quirk to hold them together, and indeed, despite the Kirishima double's wild swinging and movements, he didn't seem to even budge an inch.
Eventually, Luna faked a swing at the boy, who solidified his defense. However, she instantly swiped her left Bast's cat paw and snagging the bandana. He howled in anger for falling for Luna's trick and began to attack even more feverishly. Luna absently tied it below the 105-point bandana, obscuring the 705 points from view.
"Iida, Shoto, Yaomomo, I got it! Break!" And with that, Iida zoomed away from the raging team, who tried to chase after them but ultimately gave up and began to chase Midoriya's team once again. They were easier targets.
"Alright, let's -" began Todoroki, but was interrupted by another voice.
"Hey, you're from Class 1-A, right?" Luna turned to see a team approaching them, with a golden-haired individual sitting as the rider. "I'll be taking that, thanks!" To Luna's shock, he transformed his hands into lion paws before swiping at her. Luna yelped, quickly transforming into a rusty-spotted cat before she went back to normal.
Luna gave him a dirty look before attacking back. The entire thing was a catfight, with both of them screeching in indignation. However, when Iida tried to speed up, it was to his surprise that the boy in front began to rotate his legs at high speeds, allowing him to keep up. Todoroki growled in frustration, unable to do much as they were attacked on Yaoyorozu's side.
The girl in question tried everything she could to get Monoma away, but another boy was able to defend the golden-haired individual with invisible barriers as he huffed and puffed, leading Luna to believe that he was making barriers with his breath.
Eventually, the boy glanced at a watch and stopped it, activating a new one. Luna's eyes narrowed, furiously thinking about it before the boy began shooting literal fireballs at Luna. She began to hiss, now thoroughly confused.
How was he able to use MY Quirk? How was he just able to shoot literal fire at me? What's with his watches? What's his name?
The last one was kind of random, but Luna was still curious.
He's copying your Quirks.
Bast?
No response was given. Now that Bast said that, everything clicked into place; he could temporarily copy Quirks, thus warranting the boy to check his watches and keep track of time.
Luna began to think, while they both attacked and dodged each other's attacks. The idea hit her with a flash; she didn't know if he could do it, but they had to try. Time was running out to catch Midoriya's team.
"Shoto! On my mark, shoot left! Iida and Yaomomo, get ready!"
"I told you, I'm not using my left side!" he barked.
"Frozen lake!" was all that Luna said, and his eyes flashed in recognition. He nodded. Luna began to stall, waiting for Monoma to run out of time. Once he began to glance more and more frequently at his watch, Luna realized he wasn't shooting fire at them anymore.
"Now!" Luna cried and Todoroki stomped his foot onto the floor, radiating a huge patch of ice. The other team began to slip and slide, and eventually shot forward while Iida gracefully skid across the ice toward Midoriya's team, who were being chased by three other teams at once. Luna held a headband she managed to snag away from the boy. It was worth 225 points. Not bad.
"Nice job, Luna!" called Yaoyorozu and Luna nodded, now focusing on Midoriya's team. As she watched, he was assaulted by Mineta's Quirk and Tsu's tongue.
"Team Mineta makes use of the overwhelming difference in their sizes! They're like a tank!" cried Present Mic, and she could picture the man glued to the glass of his booth, face slightly smushed up against it.
Eventually, he flew off, but Luna realized that one of the jetpack boots was broken, sparking and fizzing. Iida began to follow, and Luna's ears swiveled constantly; the golden-haired boy didn't seem like someone who gave up; he'd likely come back.
Bakugo flew after him, Peter Pan style, sparking a furious battle midair. Every time he attacked, he either missed or was blocked by Dark Shadow. Luna licked her lips, nodding. This would be excellent; Bakugo was weakening the shadow being and would make her plan a whole lot easier.
"He separated from his horses!" exclaimed Present Mic as Sero's tape flew out and caught the boy, reeling him back in.
"It's a technicality, so it's okay!" decided Midnight, causing the stadium to cheer even louder.
"Luna, tell us your plan while we wait for him to get down!" shouted Todoroki, and she nodded.
"When we first get in range, we attack Midoriya. Once they're confident that's all we're doing, I give the signal, and we threaten to attack Tokoyami. Dark Shadow and Tokoyami will panic, sending him to his master, while I snag the headband. Now that the shadow demon's injured, it will be a little easier."
"Sounds good. I like it." Nodded Iida, and Yaoyorozu voiced her opinion in favor.
For whatever reason, she turned to face Todoroki. She wasn't sure why, but his opinion mattered to her, a lot more than she originally thought. Luna wasn't sure why, either.
Actually, that was a lie. Luna knew exactly why, but she didn't really want to admit it.
It's because he's the leader. Yes, that's it! No other reason at all.
Bast snorted in disbelief.
How's fooling yourself going for you? And Luna colored slightly at that, but she shook her head. Luna was slightly terrified of her newfound crush on the boy, and she wasn't going to admit it, even to herself. Because if she did, Luna would inadvertently be giving herself a chance, and it's not like he would even like her back. Who could possibly love her, anyways?
After a moment, Todoroki nodded silently, and Luna released a pent-up breath she had been holding, awaiting the verdict. It relieved Luna beyond words that he supported her plan. She felt a little guilty, as Todoroki was the person who gathered them all up, but as if sensing it, Todoroki spoke.
"You're the rider and the team is named after you. Don't." he softly warned, and again, Luna jumped slightly at the fact that he read her like an open book.
"As expected, everyone's chasing after the team in first place, and Class A is in hot pursuit! Even Team Luna has decided to shadow them! Heh, get it? Because Tokoyami's Quirk is Dark Shadow?!"
She heard Aizawa groan at the joke, and Luna rolled her eyes at it, but smiled.
"Now, let's take a look at everyone's points! It's been seven minutes! Here are the current rankings on the screen! Huh? Wait a minute … except for Team Midoriya and Team Luna, Class 1-A isn't doing so hot!"
Luna spared a glance at the leaderboard, and saw that Present Mic was right. While Midoriya sat on 10,000,325 points, Luna's team had 1755 points, the rest of the top half of the leader board was mainly Class 1-B. In fact, most of Class 1-A didn't even have a single point.
"Bakugo? What?" And that even included Bakugo. Something wasn't right here. It was as if they were being targeted. Her mind flashed to the golden-haired boy, and she growled. Scratch that, they were being targeted. Stupid boy.
Suddenly, they slid in front of Midoriya's team, making them pause. Team Luna was the only team that was nearby, and both teams faced each other down.
"Remember the plan." Muttered Todoroki, and something in his voice made Luna pause to look at him. He was no longer the aloof and supportive friend that visited her at the hospital. He was something entirely different, and it made Luna incredibly sad. It took her a moment to realize, but now that Luna saw it, she couldn't unsee it. She was used to him sitting behind her, relaxed and bored. Now, he was tense, angry, frustrated. Luna made a note to ask what was wrong after the battle.
"The cavalry battle is about to enter the second half! In this unexpected rise of Class B, who will wear the ten million points in the end?"
"We'll be taking that now." His voice was cold and full of malice. Luna shuddered slightly at the massive difference in aura the boy gave.
"I thought we wouldn't have a confrontation until later in the match. He seems to think highly of you, Midoriya." said Tokoyami. Luna's ear swiveled as Shoji approached with Mineta and Tsu.
"Shoto!" Luna hissed.
"I know."
"Only half the time is left! Don't stop moving!" Midoriya's eyes kept swiveling from Luna to Iida to Todoroki to Yaoyorozu and back again.
"Iida, forward!"
"Right!"
"Yaomomo, get some rollerblades ready!"
"Got it."
Todoroki stomped the ground once more, creating a vast field of ice. The majority of the teams went flying by except for Luna's and Midoriya's, who began a game of cat-and-mouse. Any time another team tried to approach, Todoroki froze the legs of the team, thereby trapping them and keeping them away, at least for a little while.
"What? What did he do? Todoroki is taking care of every team one by one!"
"He keeps freezing the horses' legs, forcing them to stop. I guess it should have been expected. Todoroki took into account how many avoided it in the obstacle course, so now he's doing it randomly, catching everyone off guard."
"Nice commentary!" complimented Present Mic.
"Luna, start taking their headbands."
"Already on it." Luna managed to snag a couple low point headbands, and one 340-point head band. Their total was somewhere around 2000, but Luna wasn't really counting at this point.
They tried to fly off, but the backpack began to act up, sparking and fizzing.
"I'll restrain them!" Dark Shadow sent a clawed hand at Luna.
"Yaomomo!" shouted Todoroki, and a small wall blocked the shadow being's grasp.
They began to shepherd Midoriya's group to the boundaries, blocking them in with massive ice spikes. They froze when they realized they were backed into a corner.
"Team Midoriya has nowhere left to go!"
Todoroki caused the ice spikes to surround the two teams, trapping them all inside a ring. In the distance, Luna heard Bakugo's Quirk going off, but Luna flicked her ears and pointed them forward. Her complete attention was held on Midoriya and Tokoyami. The two teams began to circle each other, waiting for the other to make a move.
"One minute remains!" shouted Present Mic and broke the spell of neutrality. They dashed forward and made it abundantly clear that they would focus on Midoriya. Todoroki began shooting spikes at Midoriya, which Dark Shadow managed to block. Yaoyorozu pulled out a baseball bat and held it loosely with her right hand. Luna transformed her paws into a ligers. Finally, she could use them in actual combat.
They rushed them again and again, and, like Luna predicted, Dark Shadow was able to keep blocking, but was forced to take the damage himself. The cat-and-mouse game began anew, with Team Luna trying everything they could to hit Midoriya. Or that's what they wanted to think.
"20 seconds left! Who'll get the ten million headband?!"
"Now, switch!" shouted Luna, and the team instantly retargeted to Tokoyami. Midoriya's team balked, confused at the sudden change in tactics, and Tokoyami was forced to defend himself if he wanted to not get hit.
"Ten seconds! Nine, eight, seven …" Present Mic began to count down and Luna and Midoriya came neck and neck. She faked a swipe at Tokoyami with her dominant right hand, but at the same time attacked Midoriya with her left. The confusion left the 10-million-point headband vulnerable, and Luna snagged it. As she turned, she felt one of her own being pulled away, but Luna didn't care. She got the main prize! She did it!
"And Zero! Times up! Cease all fighting!" commanded Present Mic and everyone stopped, with the crowd cheering at the result.
"Did you …?" asked Iida, and Luna brandished it, waving it triumphantly. Iida and Yaoyorozu cheered, but Todoroki still looked like he did before.
"And with that, the second round is over! Everyone, head over to Midnight, who will count the points!" Everyone made their way to Midnight, Luna now walking. The results came after about ten minutes of counting.
In fourth place, Team Midoriya managed to hang on. By sheer luck, Tokoyami swiped their original headband, which was worth 720. In third came Team Shinso, the team of the sleepy purple-haired individual. Luna was surprised; she hadn't seen the team the entire match. In second came Team Bakugo, though he currently was fuming that he hadn't been able to get to Midoriya and steal the headband. Luna learned that he was chasing the yellow-haired boys' team, which Luna learned was called Team Monoma.
So, Monoma is the prick's name, is it? Oh, my revenge will one day be sweet. Luna cracked her knuckles, already eager for the day to come.
And in first place, unsurprisingly came Team Luna, with the 10-million-point headband, as well as 1760 points extra from the other headbands they had taken.
"Now, we'll break for lunch before we start the afternoon festivities!" decreed Present Mic, and everyone in the stadium began to drift off. Luna watched as Todoroki stalked away, hands in his pockets, brooding as he walked.
"Hey, Luna! That was great! Want to go eat with us?" Yaoyorozu asked, Jiro already beside her.
Luna gave her a half smile, still focused on Todoroki's retreating back.
"That sounds great, Yaomomo. You can go ahead; I need to take care of something really quickly."
"Okay, see you later, Luna-chan!" called Jiro over her shoulder, waving, but Luna was already gone, running to where she saw Todoroki last. She panicked slightly when she couldn't find him but heard his footsteps going into a room before closing it. Luna slid into said hallway, hesitating. There were a few rooms in it, but Luna could hear Todoroki in the male locker room, so Luna waited outside for him, hands folded over her chest, apprehensive.
What do I tell him? I can't beat around the bush, but I don't want to force him to converse with me…
Tell him the truth, that you're worried about him. He'll open up.
So, you're back?
Yea, I … I'm sorry. It was really childish of me to do, and it cost you the first place.
Actually, you really helped me out. Had you not done it, Todoroki wouldn't have teamed up with me, and who knows if I even would have passed?
So, you're not mad at me?
I was before, but now … I'm just worried for him.
Their conversation was cut short when Todoroki exited the room, toweling his hair but pausing when seeing Luna.
"Luna." He greeted. His normally neutral voice was now filled with frost that Luna normally never heard.
"Hey, Shoto. Can … Can we talk?"
"Sorry. I'm busy. We'll talk later." And with that, Todoroki walked past her. Luna turned: hand outstretched before freezing. She watched the boy walk away, helplessly.
Why didn't you stop him?
Who am I to pry for a person's secrets? I know better than most that sometimes, people don't want to talk about it.
Perhaps, but people such as yourself NEED to talk about it. You two are incredibly alike in that you try to keep to yourselves and keep everything bottled up inside. You refuse to talk about it and let it fester in the back of your mind. Luna, you need to talk to him. For both your sakes.
Luna was still hesitant to chase after the boy, but with Bast's prodding, she ran off to find him. She found him sitting in the waiting room. It had a ping-pong table, a few vending machines, several couches, tables, and chairs.
"Shoto?"
"Luna, I was serious about being busy."
"I know. I …" Luna paused, afraid to continue. In that moment, she saw herself in Todoroki before she found Bakugo and Midoriya; alone, resentful, angry. "But I think we need to talk. I'm … I'm worried about you."
His head snapped up, eyes narrowing in disbelief. Luna, however, meant it. She looked directly into his eyes. Her mind began to ring with alarm bells and her tail began to swish back and forth, but she pushed them aside, swallowing nervously.
"When I first met you, you were carefully neutral, calm, composed, collected. You took an interest in me on the first day of school, and you even visited me when I was in the hospital, even when I was unconscious." His eyes widened in surprise, confused as to how she knew, but Luna continued "Now … Now you're different. Different in a bad way, Shoto. You're a ball of nerves, angry, bitter. Something's wrong, and … I just want to help."
Her monologue was met with silence. Todoroki looked deep into her amber eyes, searching for any form of lies or treachery, but Luna stood by what she said.
He stood "I appreciate you looking out for me, Luna, but some things are meant to be kept in the dark. Some things … aren't meant to be spoken about."
"They are if they're destroying you from the inside out."
He whirled around, now angry. Luna flattened her ears but stood straight, his angry, mismatched eyes meeting amber ones filled with worry and sorrow.
"It's not destroying me. I can handle it. I don't need you to baby me like you do with Midoriya." His words hurt, but something was pushing Luna forward, and it wasn't Bast this time. The deity kept quiet in Luna's mind, afraid of interfering.
"Shoto, I can see that as strong as you are, you need help."
"I don't need anyone's help! I'm fine on my own!"
"No, you're not! Your isolation and inability to talk is what's driving you in a corner! Why can't you see that?!"
"I don't want you to play therapist! I don't need you!"
"You need someone to talk to, Shoto! I know what it's like, being in your position, and I can honestly say that I should have someone to speak to sooner!
"What would you know?! What would you know if what I'm going through?! How could you possibly understand?!"
"Then help me understand!"
The two were shouting at each other now, both angry with the other. He turned to leave the door, grabbing the handle, but just as he was about to leave, Luna spoke quietly, halting his movements.
"When you called me a friend, were you lying to me?" Luna asked suddenly, and just as Todoroki was about to leave, he paused. "Were you saying that because you were caught up in the moment? Or were you being truthful, in saying that I was your friend?"
The boy didn't answer, hand on the handle of the door tight, so tight that it was white with strain. His back began to shake slightly, but Luna couldn't see from what.
"I … I only told you that … because I wanted to cheer you up. You're not my … friend. I don't have friends." He said, and left, slamming the door shut behind him.
Luna only stood in disbelief, tears trickling down her face. She wrapped her hands around herself and crouched in the middle of the room, shellshocked by what she heard. She couldn't believe what she just heard, but as she repeated the conversation over and over again, wondering what went wrong, she realized she heard correctly. When Todoroki challenged Midoriya in the shared locker room, waiting to be taken out to the stadium, that was the real Todoroki. Luna should have realized it sooner, but the boy was wearing a mask the entire time.
All this time, Luna thought Todoroki wasn't lying to her. She genuinely thought they had a connection, a friendship. But now, her world came crashing down around her. She sobbed, rocking herself in the hopes of calming her down, but it was no use. The poor girl was inconsolable at the moment, hurt much more than her father every hurt her. She felt abandoned, unwanted, alone.
Bast sat in the girl's mind, terrified of what she'd done. She was the one who pushed Luna into this, even though Luna didn't want to. She was the one that forced the altercation. She was the one that wanted to see a spark between the two, a deeper connection. Instead, all she did was destroy Luna's recently built walls. When she first awoke in Luna, during the sludge incident, she was intrigued by this fresh, young mind. She was interested in the shattered personality and heart of the girl. Left by her mother, abused by her father, Bast felt the same irritability and anger in her mind as she now felt in Young Todoroki's.
It was only recently, when Luna first began to attend U.A., that she pulled herself out of the muck and into the sky, slowly breaking down the walls she put around herself. She was hesitant, scared, terrified even of this exact thing; people brushing her off, admitting that she was nothing to them. As Bast tried to speak, she found herself silenced, unable to do anything. She began to panic, her access to Luna's mind quickly destabilizing.
At that exact moment, Bast realized what allowed Luna to house her in the first place. It was her desire to protect and defend her friends; it was Luna's wish of friendship and companionship. Before, she was alone, bitter, reserved. She was this way because it was the only way she found that she could survive, miserable beyond belief. Now, however, Luna was back to square one; depressed, alone, and afraid. It was then that Luna finally cried out loud. Even when she cried before, it was quiet. Now, however, she was bawling, screaming her throat raw at the pain she felt in her heart. Never before had she felt such sadness and grief. She stayed in that room for the whole lunch. Yaoyorozu and Jiro were worried, as was most of the class when they realized she wasn't here, but they couldn't do anything about it.
Unbeknownst to her, Todoroki was standing outside the door, listening to the heartbroken Luna cry as tears began to fall down his face.
It's for her own good. It's to keep her safe from the demons inside me. This was necessary to protect her from me. She doesn't deserve to face the real me. He repeated to himself, over and over again. He had intentionally built himself a new mask to keep everyone away from himself, to remain alone and bitter. But this girl was drawn to him like a magnet, wanting to help him, and for whatever reason, he found his mask shattered. And it scared Todoroki more than he was willing to admit. So, his panicked mind did the only thing it thought off: push Luna away.
He had no way of knowing the demons that Luna herself kept locked inside. He didn't know it was possible to hurt a person so badly, to the point where they broke. Yet here he was, listening to the quiet, kind, reserved Luna shatter into a million pieces on the other side of the door. The guilt began to devour Todoroki, and he fled, unable to hear those haunting cries anymore. But no matter how far away he got, they still continued to ring in his ears just as loud as before, louder even.
Todoroki burst into the male bathroom, opening a sink with cold water and began to splash his face. He looked into the mirror and realized he was crying. He hadn't cried in a long, long time. Not since his mother poured boiling water on his face and was whisked away to an asylum for the insane.
He shouted and yelled in pain, yes. But he never cried. He furiously wiped at the tears, but they continued to pour. He yelled, slamming his hands into the sink, causing it to freeze over and shatter like glass. He sat down on the floor, now wet with the water spewing out of the broken pipe, and for the first time in years, cried.
It was only after lunch that Luna's class searched for her, and Midoriya was the one to fine Luna, still sobbing, in the waiting room, oblivious to the world around her as she sat, broken like porcelain that was just dropped onto the hard floor.
Hello, and welcome back. This chapter's ending …. This chapter's ending is dark and depressing. It really pained me to make Luna go through this, but I did. I actually almost cried several times throughout the end, seeing myself in Luna and Todoroki more than I would like to admit. But the show must go on, even if it is horrible depressing. I don't even know what to say in this note. I would say I hope you enjoyed, but the ending … well. Stay safe out there. – Bananaman out.
Mirrorflower: Sorry about miswriting you name. It was like 3 am or something stupid like that when I finished the previous chapter, my sincerest apologies. Anyways, about your note on strong female characters, you're right, honestly. Even the strong female students were sexualized, though not as much as Midnight. Yaoyorozu had massive breasts, which Mineta was always pointing out. I know it's his thing, since he's a perv, but he basically showcased it when he was trying to peep into the girl's locker room. Even Nejire Hado. AGain, her thing is being very blunt and invasive with her questions, but I felt like a lot of them were more focused to be like flirting. Anyways, just my thoughts, but thanks for reading! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!