Today's the day of the U.A. Sports Festival.

I didn't realize how and when the early weeks of November flew by.

Almost all the trees have shed their leaves.

Only the first snowfall is left.

After my birthday, I tried my best to uphold my apology. I asked him to join me for lunch by the koi fish pools again (I still wasn't ready to show him the gazebo), I listened intently when he talked to me, and I volunteered to become his library study partner. After each day, I wrote the events in my diary, hoping to find the best way to follow through with my promise. He told me that it was up to me to compensate for my errors, but I still feel as though I'm not doing enough.

I said I would atone, but how do I do that? It's not as simple as baking pastries to sweeten someone's sour mood. A thought suddenly comes to me: I will have to compete against Todoroki-kun, perhaps even in the one-on-one battle. All this time, I have been trying by supporting and aiding him. What would happen if I opposed him? Would today's upcoming events count as atonement: proving to be a worthy adversary? I've seen his prowess during Hero Training, he has seen mine. What might happen if two prowesses faced each other?

The idea seems radical, preposterous even, but given that I'm unfamiliar with what I'm trying to achieve, I can't say so for certain. Remembering the indigo-haired from before, I wonder, perhaps I should issue my own declaration of war.

I'm sitting at a corner table with the other students in the lounge. The teachers told us to change into our training uniforms and wait here until the official announcement. Everyone's here except Todoroki-kun.

Speak of the devil and the devil will come ...

He comes in, but to my surprise, he addresses Midoriya-san first.

"What is it Todoroki?" he asks, just as surprised.

"On an objective basis, I think I'm above you in terms of practical strength," Todoroki-kun replies. But as Midoriya-san stammers his agreement, he continues. "You've managed to get All Might's eyes on you, right?" The look of astonishment only grows. "I feel no need to pry into that, but ... I'm going to beat you." This elicits a mix of reactions from the class: Kaminari-san is excited by this new declaration of war, Bakugou-san is irritated, Kirishima-san tries to chastise Todoroki-kun, and I'm still sitting like a dumb duck, watching everything very closely, doing absolutely nothing.

Todoroki-kun pushes Kirishima-san's words off. "I'm not here to play nice and make friends," he says.

I wait for Midoriya-san's response. He looks at the ground first before meeting Todoroki-kun's eyes. His voice is full of conviction. "I have no idea what you want from me. Telling me all that, you're definitely stronger than me. I think the vast majority of people are probably no match for you, looking at it objectively.

"Even so!" he exclaims, taking me aback. "Everyone - even kids from other departments are aiming for the top with all their might. So not even I can just let myself lag behind the rest. So I'm going to go for it with all my might, too!"

Todoroki-kun angles his head and lets out an impressed, "Oh?", while Bakugou-san grits his teeth.

Todoroki-kun turns to leave, but Bakugou-san stands up, and his words make him pause in his tracks. "Fine! None of you extras are actual competition for me, but since all of you have decided to hop on the stupid-declaration-of-war bandwagon, I have my own to make."

As if my shock could not increase any further, Bakugou-san approaches me. Todoroki-kun, Midoriya-san, and everyone else watch intently, quiet. Albeit to a different reason, I'm just as quiet as them.

He stands across me from the table and plants both hands on the surface. "You and me, Three Legs! I'm going to crush you in every trial today. That won't take me much effort, but I want you to put your all, so the victory is all the more satisfying." He leans forward, and his voice drops to a lethal whisper. "You said that you were my equal. Prove it."

"Gladly. Though if I were in your place, I wouldn't be so confident that I would win. After all, you did combat me during practice. And if I recall correctly, we were nearly tied," I whisper just as dangerously as I accept his challenge. For effect, I lean back, and I cross my legs at the knees and my arms at my chest.

The gibe works. He sneers one last time as he leaves. I snort and grin. I glance at Todoroki-kun and Midoriya-san, and it seems they were watching my exchange just as intently as I was watching theirs. The sense of pride fades as I watch Todoroki-kun leave the lounge. I still have to give my declaration to him. As to not seem clingy or desperate, I wait for two minutes before leaving the lounge myself.

Outside the lounge, it is crowded and noisy. U.A. faculty, contract workers, visitors, and the like bustle in every direction. My assumption is that he went somewhere quiet. At this time, I can count the number of such quiet places on one hand.

I take the elevator to the highest floor of the building and then climb the stairs to the rooftop. No one is there. Heading back down the stairs and elevator, I stand outside the Class 1-A homeroom. But the door is locked when I get there. What about the pools where we eat lunch? But they are near the school entrance, where most of the shop stalls and public are congregated. The pools are out of the question. I stroll through the hallways, wondering where he might have gone. Giving up, I ride the elevator for the third time to the ground floor where the lounge is. But as I stroll back, I catch a glimpse of peppermint hair.

Todoroki-kun is hiding in an alcove away from the main hallway, quite far from the lounge. I feel foolish for having scoured what seems like every level of the school, only to find him in the place where I left. I could have saved myself so much time. But there's no point in fretting now.

Todoroki-kun is on his feet, but his posture is slouched against the well. Hands in his pockets, one ankle crossed over the other, and gaze at something beyond the ground.

"Todoroki-kun," I call out.

He jolts and stares at me. "Oh, hey."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Just calming my nerves before the big competition."

I cock my head to the side, puzzled. At the entrance exam and since school began, his every action has exuded a quiet confidence and determination. His declaration from just before only adds to this. Not once has he struck me as nervous. "Todoroki-kun, has anyone ever told you that you're a terrible liar. You're excellent when it comes to concealing your emotions facially, but horrible when it comes to concealing them verbally."

He gives me an unimpressed look. "Did you come here just to make fun of me?"

I walk over to him and lean against the opposite wall, facing him. "No. I came here for a different purpose. But your weak excuse compelled me to point that little detail out."

He raises his head in response. "So, what did you come here for?"

"I could ask you the same."

Now he scoffs. "Are we just going to evade each other's questions in circles like this? We'll get nowhere."

I huff, "You're right. I came here to find you. I could have saved a lot of time and energy had I known you were down here all along. Searching for you up and down the school was not a fun field trip, I'll let you know. My poor joints. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you. Since I promised to atone, my actions have always been in your favor, I have always been on your side. But I want to know what will happen if I'm not. When I'm against you, how will you react? What will be the outcome of our opposition? More importantly, what can I do when I'm against you? Now call it curiosity, brazenness, ambition, or selfishness, I came here to give my own declaration of war.

"Todoroki-kun, I will put my heart and soul to defeat you. I would like for you to do the same. Do you agree?"

A glint of appreciation and dare shimmer in his eyes. He smirks, "I do. See you on the battlefield, Hanada-chan. Don't let friendship get in your way because I certainly won't."

I watch him leave the alcove and return to the lounge.

Meanwhile, I'm still standing where I am.

I had intended to rank in the Top Three because of pressure from the League of Villains and Hanada-sama.

But I just found a third reason to do so.

A personal, meaningful reason.

I really do crave chaos.

Let's see what havoc it will wreak.

Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The link to the chapter is here: .online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-23/