"I've never seen something so impressive, yet terrifying."
Hitomi pouted, face flushing in embarrassment. "Well, you didn't have to sit there and watch!"
Ojirou stared unblinking at the clean plates sitting around the table. "You just… ate it all. Like it was nothing."
Hitomi huffed, standing and crossing her arms. "W-well…" when she couldn't come up with a retort, her cheeks turned a vibrant rosy hue. "Whatever! Let's head to the stands."
Half of their class was already sitting in the box that was meant for Class 1-A when Hitomi and Ojirou arrived, watching Cementoss make the battleground. Hitomi scanned the seats, and considered sitting beside Momo, but thought better of it.
Make friends. Momo said to make friends.
She took a deep breath, and chose an empty seat by someone she recalled had the same drawbacks as her.
"Ah, hey, Saito." Kaminari awkwardly greeted as she sat next to him, obviously fearful of any lingering wrath from the cheerleader situation.
And while she definitely didn't appreciate the trick, she was willing to move past it for the sake of potential friendship.
"Hey!" Hitomi chirped back.
That was all it took for Kaminari to deflate in relief, a much more genuine smile spreading across his face.
"Thank you, Cementoss!" Present Mic said over the loudspeaker, as Cementoss finished his work. "Hey sports fans! Are ya ready!?"
The stadium cheered.
"After all the action you've already witnessed, it's time for the real battles to begin! Can ya feel the excitement!? Our competitors are on their own now! Sometimes, Heroes have only themselves to rely on!" Present Mic's voice lowered in what sounded like his attempt to sound edgy. "Heart. Skill. Strength. Wisdom—"
Hitomi winced.
"—Courage. They'll have to use all of these things to rise to the top!"
The four corners of the stage erupted with piers of fire, thrashing in a high inferno, then mellowing slightly.
"Alright, audience! Let's cut to the good stuff and not delay these finals any longer! Welcome our first fighters!"
The screen changed to two portraits with a flashy "VS" cutting between them. In his picture, Shinsou looked calm and composed, while Midoriya was pale and stiff.
"Whoa, he looks kinda scared in that picture, doesn't he? It's Izuku Midoriya from the Hero course! Versus, Hitoshi Shinsou from general studies, who really hasn't done anything to stand out yet." Present Mic casually commented, then continued on with his spectator voice. "The rules are simple. Immobilize your opponent or force them outta the ring!"
Hitomi cocked her head. But the stage was a rectangle? Not a ring.
"You can also win by getting the other person to cry uncle! Bring on the injuries 'cause we've got our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby! So put your morals aside and don't be afraid to play dirty! But of course, no life-threatening crap, folks. It's not allowed! Real Heroes use their power to throw the Villains in jail, not kill them!"
Kaminari snickered, risking life and limb by nudging Bakugou snidely. The blonde on Kaminari's other side growled, a vicious red fury hovering visibly over his head. Kaminari smartly chose to shrink away, adhering himself to Hitomi's side for protection.
"I'll stop anyone who tries to get too rough." Cementoss spoke from a concrete throne he made next to the battleground.
Midoriya stood straighter, and if she squinted, Hitomi could see Shinsou's lips moving.
She shot to her feet, ears flattening. "Don't—"
"Ready!? Begin!"
Midoriya ran forward, and to her dismay, she could hear him respond to whatever it was Shinsou said.
"Don't you talk about her that way—"
His angered demand cut off suddenly, and he froze mid-stride.
Hitomi held onto the back of the seat in front of her, staring in disbelief at how quickly Midoriya threw aside his plan to keep silent. Going by what he said, Shinsou must have berated someone Midoriya knew.
Midoriya must be a very protective friend, Hitomi mused, just to defend someone's honor like that, forgetting about how it would throw the match.
"Wah!? Hey, hey, what's the dealio!? This is the first match! It should start out with a bang! But the fight has just begun and Izuku Midoriya is completely frozen!?"
"Come on, Deku!" Uraraka fretted, standing with Iida.
"Why in the world isn't he moving?"
Hitomi frowned, fidgeting with her hands. "I think Shinsou's mind-controlling him. That's his Quirk."
"Wait, Saito, weren't you teamed up with that guy for the cavalry battle?" Uraraka asked with a lilt of concern.
"Yeah. When I was under it, it was like my body wasn't my own anymore. I think he could've had me do anything he wanted, really."
A bleed gushed from Mineta's nose, incoherent babbling falling from his mouth until Sero slapped some tape over it.
"He's not moving a muscle! And what's with that look on his face? Could this be a Quirk at work? Hitoshi Shinsou seems to have Izuku Midoriya completely stunned! He didn't stand out in the first rounds at all, but it's possible Shinsou's crazy powerful!"
Mr. Aizawa— who it was easy to forget was commentating with Present Mic —went on to explain that while he isn't in the Hero course, it's not Shinsou's fault, but the faculty's for letting someone with such a powerful Quirk slip by, thanks to the impracticality of, well, the practical exams. It made sense, because a mental Quirk like his was impossible to use against the robots from the exam.
Hitomi sat back down, a heavy feeling in her chest.
"No I wouldn't! My big brother's got a scary Quirk and he's super nice, so I'm not scared of you neither!"
A part of her had always been glad that Nori detested the Hero career path (despite the heckling she regularly received) because if he had decided that he wanted to be a Hero, he would've been met with the same things that had clearly worn Shinsou down to the point that he was at now.
The last dregs of negativity lingering from being used in the cavalry battle, dried up. A hope for him to succeed in his goals replacing it.
But that didn't mean she didn't want Midoriya to win.
Slowly and rigidly, like one of those old wind-up toys, Midoriya turned and started walking toward the edge of the arena.
"What?! It looks like Midoriya's obeying him?!"
"Oh no, Deku, what are you doing?" Uraraka gasped.
Iida chopped his left arm tensely in the air. "He can't walk out of the ring! He'll lose the match if he does!"
Hitomi bit her lip, glancing between all of her fellow classmates. The only one looking unperturbed was Bakugou, who was instead… uninterested?
No, that wasn't right. Hitomi took a discreet sniff, and identified it with bewilderment. His scent was calm, with an undertone of… was that expectance? With the startling discovery, Hitomi realized that Bakugou must think that Midoriya was going to break out of the trance, and win the match.
Bakugou believed in Midoriya. At least, subconsciously he did.
Hitomi got the district feeling that if she brought this up to him, she would be promptly murdered.
Ten feet. Seven feet. Five feet. Two feet. One foot left, before Midoriya stepped out of bounds. His red shoes, the ones he always wore even with his costume, reached the barrier line, and one lifted to go over and finish the match. When out of nowhere, on Midoriya's left side, a small scale burst of wind kicked up dust and forced Midnight and Shinsou to shield their faces from the force. It was much less than what was caused by his all-out punch during the USJ incident, but it was still scary how powerful it was, given the fact that it hadn't even looked like Midoriya moved
"What's this?! Midoriya stopped just in time!"
The dust cleared, and both the toes of Midoriya's shoes flirted with the edge of white tape. The last-minute save was cheered for by the amazed audience.
"That's the way to do it!" Iida threw his hands in the air in celebration.
"Whoa, I was about to freak out!" Uraraka sighed in relief.
Hitomi stared, wondering just how he managed to do it, when she couldn't even remember anything after Shinsou activated his Quirk.
"You're not supposed to be able to fight back! What did you do?!" Shinsou shouted, sounding shaken.
Midoriya slapped his right hand over his mouth, ensuring he wouldn't let anything slip out again.
Shinsou visibly tensed, and said something again to try to get Midoriya to talk. But the green haired teen didn't utter a single sound, running toward Shinsou. He kept trying, getting louder with desperation.
"...But someone as blessed as you wouldn't understand that! You're lucky enough to have a heroic Quirk! It'll be so easy for you to reach your goal!"
Hitomi winced, her ears drooping in despaired sympathy. A whimper escaped from her throat, as Midoriya charged at Shinsou and physically began pushing him back toward the boundary line.
"You okay?" Kaminari caught the noise, looking at her in concern.
Hitomi managed to plaster on a smile. Nodding once. No one else heard the pained words Shinsou hurled at Midoriya, and she couldn't bring herself to say anything. About the lilac haired boy, or about who he made her think of.
Midoriya took a right-hook to the face, and didn't falter, continuing to force Shinsou to his defeat. But Shinsou then aimed a fist at Midoriya's left hand— the one that he used to break from the mind-control, and ducked away, trying to turn the tables by grabbing Midoriya's shirt collar and heaving him over the line. Midoriya dug in his heels, gripped Shinsou's wrist, and used his momentum against him. In a move Hitomi recognized from the indoor combat training, Midoriya threw Shinsou over his shoulder, and slammed him down onto the ground on his back.
That's what he did to—
Yeah, the expression on Bakugou's face said it all.
It was the same move he used to trip up Bakugou at the beginning of their "Heroes vs Villains" mock fight, that ended up becoming worryingly real.
There was a stunned moment of silence, until Midnight raised a hand.
"Shinsou is out of bounds! Midoriya advances to the next match!"
The crowd erupted in elation, rightfully taken aback by the quick change of events, and Midoriya's unwavering determination to get Shinsou out of the arena.
"And with that expertly performed throw, we have our first victor of the finals! Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya!"
"Ugh, that was so nerve wracking!" Uraraka slumped in her seat.
"Turning the tables at the last second, a classic Midoriya maneuver!" Iida said with pride.
"He's pulled that shoulder throw on you before, huh?" Kaminari mimed the move at Bakugou.
"Shut your fucking face, Sparky."
Hitomi patted Kaminari on the shoulder, finding guilty amusement in the way he suddenly resembled a stone statue.
"Hitomi."
The pinkette leaned back in her seat, peering over to where Momo sat with Mina and Jirou.
"Now's your chance, he's leaving the arena." Momo said in a low tone, pointing down at Shinsou, where he was standing by the exit. The audience of Heroes near that area seemed to be discussing him.
Hitomi shot up, bolting out of the room. Momo must have gotten the same feeling from Shinsou that Hitomi did, and figured she would want to talk with the boy. And like always, Momo was spot-on.
A few of her classmates tried calling after her, asking where she was off to in such a hurry, but she didn't have the time to answer, not having any idea where Shinsou planned to go now that he was finished competing.
Using her senses, she ran through the winding hallways, nearly tripping over herself in her haste to slip away when she caught a whiff of fire and malice. Right when she was beginning to worry about missing Sero and Todoroki's match, she finally picked up the trail of cinnamon and longing.
Shinsou's scent.
"Hey! Shinsou!" She just about cheered when she rounded the corner and found him leaning against the wall.
He lifted his head, brows furrowing in shocked confusion.
She couldn't blame him, after all, she herself was surprised with how fast she put everything behind her.
"You almost won." Hitomi said the first thing that came to mind, still panting slightly.
Shinsou pursed his lips, fists clenching at his sides. "But I didn't."
Hitomi frowned, approaching and standing herself next to him. "No, you didn't. But I'm sure you will next year."
Shinsou didn't understand the olive branch she was holding out, shaking his head. "Why… why are you here? Talking to me?"
Hitomi inhaled deeply, letting it out with a shrug. "Well, I guess 'cause I wanna be friends before you transfer into the Hero course. That way I'll have a one-up on everyone."
The wrong-footed stare he aimed at her made her shuffle sheepishly.
"Friends?"
"Mm-hm!"
Shinsou scoffed, shaking his head again. "I used you for your Quirk. I made fun of you to get Broccoli Head to say something. And you seriously want to be my friend?"
Hitomi's shoulders fell. "A-are you saying you don't want to be friends?"
Shinsou blinked, then laughed. Throwing his head back, he laughed so hard tears came to his eyes.
But Hitomi could smell the difference between tears of laughter, and tears of…
"You— you can't be serious!"
Hitomi put her hands on her hips, giving him a stern pout. "Yes I am! I wanted to be friends when we were little, and I wanna be friends now!"
Shinsou slowly calmed, a strange look entering his eyes.
"So, you do remember."
Hitomi let her hands drop. "Oh, yeah. You gave me a flower."
"Daffodil." He softly elaborated.
Hitomi nodded slowly, then cocked her head. "Hey, Shinsou? How come you remember it so well? After all this time?"
The boy paused, turning his head to gaze thoughtfully at the wall across from them.
"...The answer to that, is the same as the one I gave Midoriya."
Hitomi opened her mouth, but Shinsou pushed himself off of the wall, and started strolling away, hands in his pockets.
"Shinsou!"
He halted, glancing back over his shoulder with a low "Hm?"
Hitomi pointed at him with the same intensity she did back in the hallway two weeks prior, when she complemented his hair for the second time.
"I expect to see you in the Hero course before our second sports festival!"
A drop of sweat beaded on his forehead in exasperation. "Don't you think that's not giving me much time?"
Hitomi huffed, crossing her arms. "No. I believe you can do it before we even change into our winter uniforms." She finished with a firm nod.
Shinsou sighed, but there wasn't any actual heat or annoyance to it.
Hitomi— satisfied with her work, went to leave, but before she could, Shinsou stopped again. Not looking back this time, he said one word in a low voice.
"Fuchsia."
"Huh?"
His shoulder rose and fell stiffly. "You asked me my favorite color, before the cavalry battle. It's fuchsia."
Hitomi blinked at his back, mind whirring slowly with the new information and what it meant.
"Ah man, my hair's pink, not fuchsia!" Hitomi lamented, tugging on said hair in dismay. "I don't even know what that color is!"
Shinsou looked back, an expression of vague disbelief on his face.
Hitomi shrugged, her despair already forgotten. "Guess the coincidences end there. Anyway, see you later!"
Shinsou watched her skip away, and not for the first time, wondered what the hell he was thinking.
…
"Midoriya!" Like an eager puppy seeing their owner again, Saito pounced on Izuku just as he stepped out of the infirmary.
A shout of startled fear was quickly muffled by his bandaged hand, and he barely heard an expletive hissed by All Might, who ducked back into the room before Saito could see him.
"S-Saito?" Izuku stammered after lowering his hand, pressing his back to the door, and prayed that she wasn't here to get treated by Recovery Girl.
"What did you ask Shinsou?" She barreled on, wide eyes pinning him unnervingly in place.
"Wha—"
"And what was his answer?"
Izuku swallowed, taking momentary relief in her disregard of the infirmary. "Ah, why, exactly?"
Saito sighed and slumped, making him wonder— again, what he had said wrong.
"I asked him a question and he said his answer was the same one he gave you so I was wondering what you asked him and what he said." She rattled off without a breath, any sadness swirling around her dissipating.
"O-oh, well. I asked why he wanted to be a Hero."
"And his answer?" She cocked her head, in a motion that reminded Izuku vividly of an expressive dog.
"He said," Izuku tried remembering the exact wording, which was easy, as they left something aching with solidarity in his heart, "that you can't help the things your heart longs for."
Saito seemed to soak this information in, staring contemplatively at the floor.
"Well, that doesn't make any sense." She broke the bout of seriousness with a pout and crossed arms.
Izuku knew he should try leading her away, that way All Might could sneak out, so he gestured for her to follow him as he carried on the conversation. He could have cried in relief when she obediently trailed behind him.
"What is it you asked him?"
Saito stopped, and Izuku bit back the urge to scream when he saw All Might scurry back into the infirmary again.
"Well, we actually met once when we were kids."
"Oh really." Izuku couldn't take his eyes off of the door, slowly creaking open again. He had never before felt so frustrated by his own idol and mentor.
Just stay in the room!
"Yeah, and he remembers it really well, apparently. So I asked why he did."
"D-did what?" Izuku stuttered, pulling himself back into the conversation after shooting All Might a warning glare.
(Something he would later think back on, then die inside.)
"Remember it well." Saito patiently reiterated, and suddenly Izuku felt like a jerk for not giving her the attention she deserved.
She gifted him several autographs— for no reason! And she was singlehandedly the reason he knew what to do against Shinsou.
Speaking of—
"Wait…" Izuku repeating everything she had said in his mind, and the answer Shinsou had given him. "...Saito?"
"Hm?"
"You asked why he remembered you?"
She nodded.
"And he said, indirectly, you can't help the things your heart longs for?"
"Yeah, like I said, it makes no sense."
Izuku, for only a fleeting second, was sure she was just messing with him. But Saito wasn't like that, and the frustrated confusion in her eyes was way too genuine.
She sighed, shrugging while oblivious to Izuku's incredulous stare.
"Oh well. Can't be helped, I guess. But hey, do you know what color fuchsia is?"
Izuku, thrown by the sudden topic change, nodded slowly. "Er, yeah, why?"
He only knew because his mother was always watching those home renovation shows, and that was a popular accent color for girl-themed nurseries. But standing across from her, Izuku only then realized that her eyes were also a bright shade of f—
"Well, when I asked him his favorite color, he said fuchsia. And I don't think I've ever heard of it before. Is it a green? It sounds like it's a green."
"It's… a sort of, pink, actually." Izuku haltingly said, not even noticing when All Might finally took his chances and fled.
Saito hummed, then hopefully twirled a strand of her hair. "Is it a light pink?"
"No. It's kind of… darker."
Saito's whole body drooped, and Izuku was still too taken aback to get worked up over it. But just like every time before, she righted herself again quickly, smiling like nothing happened.
"Ah well, that's too bad. Anyway, congrats on your match, and I hope your hand doesn't hurt too much!" She chirped— or maybe it would be more fitting to say she yipped, and flounced away. Leaving Izuku there to comprehend everything that just happened.
Once confirming with himself that— yes, that all just happened, Izuku felt a sting of guilt as he came to a conclusion that she could never hear.
Hitomi Saito was likely the least observant girl Izuku had ever met.
But, as he stared after her bouncing form, he decided that it really wasn't such a bad thing, on someone as cheerful and compassionate as his dog-eared classmate.
(The taunt during Midoriya and Shinsou's match, that I couldn't find a place for)
"My teammate for the cavalry battle," Shinsou started, grabbing Izuku's attention, "she came in handy for the challenge. Akita Inu. It's a pretty powerful Quirk. Too bad it's wasted on such an idiot of a girl."
(And yes, it almost physically pained Shinsou to add insult to injury after what he did to her)
Okay, just to get this out of the way. Is Shinsou in love with Hitomi?
Not… exactly?
He met a sweet girl with hair as beautiful as she claimed his to be, who didn't hesitate to believe in his dream along with him, and didn't once falter in talking with him after learning his Quirk. This girl has been on his mind for over a decade, and in a way, became this idealized version of Hitomi that he built entirely in his mind. The kindness she showed him made it difficult to relent any affection he grew for her, and he couldn't stop from wondering how she was doing from time to time throughout the years.
Then there's the real thing. While he always hoped to meet her again (whether he'd admit it or not) he always expected to find this mature, intelligent, harmless girl. Instead he gets, essentially, the same little girl from that day, only now she could bench-press him. What he thought was childhood naivete and kindness, turned out to actually just be who she was as a person.
So, in a way, Shinsou's in love with the Hitomi he always imagined, and is still getting used to the real her. But once he reconciles the Hitomi he harbors attraction for, and the one standing in front of him, then the answer will be different.