Do you guys have any guesses as to what Hero name Hitomi is going to go by? I'd love to hear them if you do, and I'll mention your guesses in the chapter that the real one is revealed.
"Cheerleading competition?"
Uraraka nodded, struggling to hold her pompoms without activating her Quirk on them. "That's what they said."
"Who's they?" Hitomi inquired, hiking up the orange skirt given to her. Momo had apparently made the uniforms for everyone, and thankfully knew Hitomi's measurements by heart at this point, after having to make so many emergency clothes for when her Quirk shredded what she was wearing.
"Kaminari and Mineta told us. Mr. Aizawa must've forgotten to give us the heads-up." Jirou fidgeted with her top, face flushed at how high the hem sat, just under her bust.
Alarms bells rang, but Mina was shoving Hitomi's top over her head before she could say anything, rushing her to get ready.
The uniforms were cute, bright orange, a white and green UA logo across the chest, with thigh high socks and yellow pompoms. There was just one problem. They had to be seen in them.
"Come… on… Hitomi!" Mina grunted, trying to shove the pinkette out the door.
Hitomi dug her heels in, whole body rigid with nerves. The skirt was short. The top was short. Her stomach was exposed. If she didn't stand perfectly straight she would show off her rolls. On live television.
"No. Nope." She frantically shook her head, grabbing onto the door frame to halt Mina's valiant efforts even further.
Mina groaned, giving up with a huff. Hands settling on her hips, she turned to Jirou.
"Go get Yaomomo."
Hitomi tensed worse.
"I-I don't think—"
But Jirou was already gone, running off to bring in their trump card. When she came back, Momo was beside her, frowning at the scene.
Hitomi resisted the urge to curl into herself, standing tall, and holding the door frame tighter.
"Could you all give us a moment?" Momo requested, never taking her eyes off of Hitomi.
The girls shared a few looks and nods, murmuring their agreement. Mina slipped out from under Hitomi's arm, going with Uraraka, Asui, and Jirou to head down to the field and wait for them there.
Once alone, Momo let out a deep sigh, making Hitomi wince guiltily. But what she said next threw her off guard.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have joined a different team without telling you."
Hitomi's mouth fell open, but Momo wasn't finished.
"And because of my actions, you missed out on the cavalry battle entirely. And were used like a tool."
Ah, Nori must have told her what happened. She couldn't say she was surprised.
"...Why, uh… why did you pick a different team?" Hitomi slowly let her hands relax, sliding them down and off of the frame.
Momo fidgeted, her cheeks flushing. "I felt like… like the only reason I even made it this far was because of you. You did all the work in the obstacle course, and I was just, well, along for the ride."
Hitomi's brows lowered in a look of shock and disagreement. "But Momo, I've been relying on you too heavily."
"What? I've been the one relying on you!" Momo protested right back.
Hitomi frowned. "No way, alone I'm just a meathead with no direction. You're the one who shows me what to do."
Momo shook her head, a fist resting against her chest. "You're wrong! Without you, I'm just an encyclopedia. You're strong enough all on your own."
They paused, absorbing the other's outlook.
Hitomi's shoulders fell, her ears going back. "I'm not smart."
"And I'm not strong." Momo looked to the floor in shame.
After another short beat of silence, the ravenette took a deep breath and raised her head.
"Maybe… maybe this is what we need."
"Hm?" Hitomi cocked her head.
"We've always been there for each other. So neither of us have really had to branch out and get better at certain things." Momo gestured to Hitomi. "When I'm with you, I don't need to be strong. You have that handled."
"And when I'm with you, I don't need to be smart." Hitomi softly finished, understanding washing over her at what her friend was trying to get at.
"Exactly. I think that, to get better, we have to start doing things on our own. Or, at least without each other."
That was a bitter pill to swallow, but one Hitomi could see was needed. It never occurred to her before that being so close might hinder their own growth. With a start, she remembered the indoor combat training.
"You need to learn how to communicate. Your reaction time is impressive, but it won't do you any good if you abandon your teammates and assume they don't need your help. Not everyone can read what you're thinking, so work on how to share your ideas and concerns with others, got it?"
If she had been with Momo, she wouldn't need to broadcast what she was doing or thinking. Momo would have been able to recognize her body language and act accordingly. It was a dynamic Hitomi was so used to, that she had just assumed Ojirou could do the same, and was immediately proven wrong.
"If that's what you think is best." She slowly nodded, reluctantly accepting that this was the wisest course of action for the both of them.
Momo smiled reassuringly, but it was tight. "Hey, it's not like we won't be friends anymore. It just means we should make some more, who have similar drawbacks as us."
That sounded fine enough, but making new friends opened the door to them drifting apart, spending more and more time with the new ones as opposed to each other.
Momo outstretched a hand, that Hitomi grasped without hesitation.
"To becoming stronger." She said, shaking it once.
Hitomi swallowed. "To becoming smarter." She shook it back.
…
Momo knew everything about Hitomi, including her weaknesses. And never let it be said that she wouldn't use them on the pinkette. For instance, the ditzy girl was fully distracted once pulled into a conversation about any of her interests, making the rest of the world and any responsibilities fade away.
And that was how they wound up in their current position.
Hitomi hung onto the top of the entryway, her body weightless while the rest of the girls were trying to pull her the last five feet out onto the field. Momo had kept her from remembering what she was wearing, and where they were going all the way up until she saw the entrance back into the heart of the stadium. Her panicked mad-dash away was thwarted when the rest of the girls jumped out in an ambush.
"No!" Hitomi howled, her hands beginning to slip.
Uraraka had touched her so she couldn't run effectively, and Asui whipped her tongue out, wrapping it around her ankle, making the girl resemble a very displeased balloon.
"Come on, the sooner we do this the sooner it's over." Jirou tried reasoning.
Hitomi shook her head vehemently, grunting as Mina jumped up and clung to her waist, kicking her legs to try to weigh her down.
"Can't. Live TV. Uraraka, Asui, please! They'll see me."
"Call me Tsu." The amphibian-like girl was unmoved.
Jirou sighed, coming closer. "Let go, Ashido, I have an idea."
Mina dropped down and stepped aside, and before Hitomi could question what was about to happen, she felt a squeeze and a tug.
"Ah!" She shrieked, hands dropping from the top of the entryway in favor of grabbing onto her tail and pulling it close protectively.
"Go, go, go!"
Uraraka and Tsuyu didn't waste a second, both holding onto an ankle each, and ran through the entrance.
Hitomi whined, slumping in the air for a moment, before she tensed and straightened herself, sucking in.
"Release." Uraraka huffed, her cheeks lacking the usual rosing pink in favor of a clammy white. It made Hitomi feel a bit bad for making her use her Quirk for so long.
That was until Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic's voices came over the loudspeakers.
"What are they doing?"
"Uh, what's this? Looks like Class 1-A is goin' full-on fanservice!"
"What?! You tricked us? You're gonna regret this!" Momo raged at Kaminari and Mineta, who stood back, proud of their work. She dropped down, sitting on the ground in defeat. "Why is it I always end up falling for that little pervert's stupid schemes? I even used my Quirk to make these outfits."
"Ugh, I hate those guys!" Jirou growled, throwing her pompoms on the ground.
"I'm going to maul them." Hitomi stated, her whole face steadily growing warmer, and used her pompoms to hide her bare midriff. She eyed Jirou enviously, noticing how the shorter girl could cover her entire stomach with just her slender arms.
"What's the big deal? I'm pretty sure this uniform covers more than your Hero costume does." Mina innocently pointed out.
Hitomi twitched, a depressed aura blooming around her head.
"I think you made it worse, ribbit." Tsuyu observed, finger to her chin.
"Have fun competing in these little side-games, everyone!" The monitors changed to show a bracket with sixteen slots. "After they're over, the sixteen students from the top teams will be duking it out one-on-one in a tournament-style fighting competition!"
Hitomi cocked her head, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten. If she remembered currently, and hadn't messed up the basic math, then there were only fourteen students in the four winning teams.
"I promise you're not gonna wanna miss these epic match ups!"
"Come closer and draw lots to see who you're up against." Midnight instructed, holding up what very well could've been the same box from the training exercise on their second day of school. "Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start. The finalists have the option of participating in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I'm sure you all want to conserve your stamina. But before we begin, you may have noticed the extra two spots in the bracket. As it were, there wasn't enough contestants in the four teams to make an even match-up, so we'll be adding two participants from the team who came in fifth place."
Hitomi glanced to the side, catching sight of a head of lilac hair. They won as a team of two, instead of the expected four person group, throwing everything off because of it.
Itsuka Kendou, the leader of the fifth-place team raised her hand.
"We were frozen most of the time. Honestly, we barely did anything in the cavalry battle. Isn't that right, girls?" She questioned her teammates, who nodded along in support. "You should choose from the group that kept fighting the whole time. Team Tetsutetsu."
Tetsutetsu, the boy who challenged and was subsequently ignored by Bakugou two weeks ago, gaped at the girl. "Kendou?!"
She shrugged. "I'm not doing this as a favor, it's just fair."
Tetsutetsu was clearly deeply moved by this, and shouted out his appreciation.
Between the team, it was decided that Tetsutetsu, and a girl named Ibara Shiozaki— who had a head of long vine-like hair —would take the two empty spots.
"And so, Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki have advanced to the finals!" Midnight officially announced.
And with that, the slots were finally drawn by each contestant. None of the cards had actual names, which left them each wondering who they got until Midnight brought their attention to the screen.
"Take a look at the bracket, my dears! These are your opponents!"
With a series of chimes, all the blank windows were replaced with their names. Hitomi started to read them in order, and her stomach tightened already with just the starting match-up.
First to fight was Izuku Midoriya, versus—
Oh no.
Hitomi looked to the green haired teen, his intense expression telling her that he knew that this was serious as well.
—Hitoshi Shinsou. And it only got worse, because the next match was Shouto Todoroki versus Hanta Sero, so if Midoriya won his fight, and Todoroki won his...
A streak of lilac passed by, and Hitomi panicked.
"Midoriya!"
The teen jumped, startled by Hitomi's sudden call, and was only taken more off guard when she sprinted by, snagging his wrist and hauling him along after her.
"S-Saito! What—"
The shoes Momo made her skidded on the ground as she made a jarring stop, causing Midoriya to careen forward until she yanked on his arm and jerked him back upright.
"You're up against Shinsou!" She stated unhelpfully, her expectant face giving the impression that this information was in some way game-changing.
Midoriya scratched the back of his head, awkwardly pulling back his other hand. "Ah, yeah—" he straightened, her meaning clicking in his mind. "Wait, Saito, you teamed up with him for the cavalry battle! Could you tell me about his Quirk, and what to expect?"
Hitomi frowned, ears drooping, the sudden change making Midoriya flounder to undo whatever it was he did.
"I don't really know."
"What? But you—"
Hitomi hugged her middle, but not for the sake of modesty this time. "I mean, I do, I just… I don't know how it works exactly, or anything that goes on with it. I just know he calls it Brainwash."
"Brainwash?" Midoriya murmured to himself, then gasped quietly. He studied her with tentative concern. "Saito, did he brainwash you? To make you do the cavalry battle with him?"
Hitomi couldn't seem to lift her gaze from the ground. "Ah, w-well… yeah. I would have done it with him, if he just asked me, but… I guess he didn't think I'd agree."
"Are you okay?"
Hitomi cracked a smile, touched by his genuine concern over her. "Yeah, I'm fine." She was mostly just bothered that Shinsou had seen her as a Quirk to be used, and nothing more, but after smelling how much he longed to be in the Hero course, she really couldn't find it herself to be angry he did it. She understood his desperation, and following choices.
"Okay, so you don't know how he activates it?" Midoriya grew more serious, entering his theorizing pose, his hand to his mouth.
"Nope."
"Was he touching you?"
"No."
"Were you looking him in the eye?"
"Yeah, but not the whole time I was being controlled."
"Did he ask you a question?"
"N—" Hitomi's eyes widened, and Midoriya noticed.
"He asked you something? Did you answer?"
Hitomi frowned, nodding slowly. "Yeah, but before I could even finish the first word, the next thing I know, the battle is over."
Midoriya nodded once, then pumped a fist. "Right, that must be the trick, then. A question, and a verbal answer."
Hitomi shifted unsurely. "Just to be safe, I wouldn't say anything to him. We still don't know anything for sure."
Midoriya nodded again, staring at the ground thoughtfully. "Right." When he lifted his head, he was smiling much more confidently than his scent gave away. "Thank you, Saito, this helps a lot."
Hitomi flushed, sheepishly tugging on her hair. "Yeah, no problem."
With that dealt with, Hitomi came to the shameful realization that she hadn't even checked her own opponent, too focused on making sure Midoriya wouldn't immediately lose his match. Checking the monitor, she saw her name right after Todoroki and Sero's match, paired up against Mina. After them was Kaminari versus Shiozaki, Iida versus someone named Hatsume, Tokoyami versus Momo (oh that's not good) Kirishima versus Tetsutetsu, then the last one, Bakugou versus Uraraka.
Hitomi physically flinched. Not even the winner of that match would come out unscathed, she was sure.
Fortunately for her, it was only a second after she finished scanning through the bracket that the screen changed to text reading "recreation".
"Okay, let's press pause for a momentary interlude! Before the battles begin, it's time for some pulse-pounding side games!"
Present Mic announced the first game was a scavenger hunt, and despite having the keen senses to make such a game a cinch for her, Hitomi decided that getting some proper food was more important.
"Aren't you gonna make yourself sick?" About twenty minutes later, a very disturbed looking Ojirou questioned her in the cafeteria.
Hitomi, dressed back into her gym uniform, didn't give a verbal response, too busy trying to fit as much scrambled eggs into her mouth as she could. Lunch Rush had either been fearful or impressed when she asked for an entire carton cooked up, with a side— or rather, plate of sausage links to go with it, but his costume and mask made it hard to tell.
After making a mighty swallow, she explained. "My Quirk needs a full REM cycle of sleep, and large amounts of protein to work long, so if I wanna last to the final round, I need to pack it in." The next forkful stopped halfway to her mouth, the scent of burnt caramel drifting by. But when she looked around, she didn't see Bakugou anywhere in the cafeteria, and was left to assume it was just in her head.
She didn't notice the disappointed frown pulling down on her lips.