Recovery Girl tsk'ed in disapproval, wrapping bandages around Hitomi's hands. Her feet had been given the same treatment.
"You'll have to take it easy, and they'll still feel raw, but I've healed as much as you can handle right now."
"Thank you, Ma'am." Standing by the bedside, Nori nodded his thanks.
Hitomi winced, waiting for the inevitable blowout once they were no longer in her presence. It was miraculous Nori had even lasted this long.
"Alright, let's go." He sighed, lowering down in front of Hitomi, letting her slide onto his back. He had come down from the stands to help move her around so she wouldn't have to walk on her hurt feet.
The reveal of her parentage went unmentioned.
"I lost." Hitomi stated while he carried her through the halls back up to the class's box.
"Yep."
"I got third place."
"Uh-huh."
"Did I do enough?" She meekly asked into his shoulder.
Nori stopped, hands squeezing the undersides of her legs. "Yeah. You did plenty. Got farther than Mom and Dad ever did, that's for sure."
Hitomi smiled faintly, taking a moment to rest her eyes. She could always count on Nori for the blunt truth. So reassurances from him always felt all the more meaningful.
…
"Bakugou, Tokoyami! You're still here!"
The cheerful pinkette pointed out the obvious as she was carried in by an older male, with maroon dreadlocks.
"Saito!" A few of the extras greeted loudly.
"They can't start their fight until they clean up all the ice. And blood." Sparky stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"You were crazy manly out there!" Shitty Hair needlessly hyped up. "Even if you lost."
The pink haired mutt grinned sheepishly. "Thanks. I tried getting justice for Sero."
Tape Arms chuckled, scratching the back of his head with a dust of red on his cheeks. "Heh, thanks Saito."
Ridiculous.
"You can put me down here." Mutt chirped once her ride stopped at the spot a few seats to Katsuki's left, next to Sparky.
Dreads very carefully deposited her there, turning and watching her attentively.
"You need anything else?"
Katsuki scoffed, practically able to hear the female portion of the class's flustered thoughts.
He's so sweet!
"Nope! Thanks Nori!"
"Good…" Dreads stood to his full height, and— slammed his fist down on her head.
Something in the girls seemed to audibly shatter.
"You idiot! First your head and now this? It's like you're just askin' for trouble at this point, Jesus!" He raged while Mutt pathetically held the spot he struck and whined. "Don't ever pull something that stupid again, got it?!" He huffed, crossing his arms. "Ridiculous."
Katsuki didn't appreciate him being on the exact same wavelength.
"I'm sorry! It was all I could think of!"
Mutt's weak defense was rewarded with another whack to the head.
"Nearly gave Ayami a heart attack." He grumbled under his breath, turning and walking toward the door without another word.
Mutt craned her neck back, so she could watch him go. "Thanks for carrying me!"
"Uh, who was that?" Raccoon Eyes scratched her head.
Mutt beamed dumbly, like usual. "That was my big brother, Nori! He's super sweet once you get to know him!"
Katsuki ignored anything more from his classmates, standing once he saw the stage was almost finished being cleared. He would be going up against Bird Brain, who's Quirk was admittedly strong. The key to the fight was going to have to be persistence and—
"Good luck!"
Katsuki paused, glancing back from the door.
Mutt sat backwards in her seat, grinning at him over the back of it.
Katsuki scoffed, continuing on out of the spectators' box.
"Like I need luck to win this."
…
In a way, Bakugou and Tokoyami's intense match was Hitomi's saving grace. Capturing everyone's focus, enough so that the unexpected announcement of who her parents were was momentarily set aside, in favor of taking in the fight.
Just like with every fight previous, Bakugou didn't let his guard down or underestimate his opponent, treating Tokoyami like an equal. The result was like a no holds barred battle, with dangerous swipes from Dark Shadow, and hazardous blasts from Bakugou.
The light from the explosions made Dark Shadow shrink back the longer Bakugou kept them up. In the end, it resulted in Tokoyami's defense wavering just enough for Bakugou to tackle him to the ground, pinning his beak down to his chest.
With a gruff utterance of "I yield." From Tokoyami, Bakugou's spot was secured.
The last match would be a brawl between Bakugou and Todoroki. The two biggest heavy hitters.
"I totally thought the bird would win for sure." Sero observed.
"I guess that means his Quirk's not invincible after all." Kaminari said, sounding relieved.
Kirishima put a hand to his chin. "So light is his weakness. Interesting. And Bakugou's the kinda guy who would exploit that."
"Well, sure." Hitomi looked at him strangely. "If your enemy has a disadvantage, you have to be ready to use it against them."
"That sounds weird coming from someone like you, Hitomi." Tsuyu pitched in.
"Eh?"
"I wonder what this match will be like. Besides intense." Midoriya stared up at the monitor displaying Bakugou and Todoroki.
"Dude, they're gonna wreck the stadium." Sero concluded with certainty.
"Alright, place your bets! Who's gonna obliterate the other!" Kaminari sat up, looking around expectantly at his classmates.
"You can't wager on a fight like this! It's unethical!"
Several heads turned back, aiming toward the door.
"Iida!"
The class president smiled and nodded at Midoriya and Ochako, giving no signal that he was still torn up about losing his last match. The way his body suddenly began shaking was cause for concern, however.
"It's just my phone." He calmly explained, easing his friends' nerves. He checked the caller ID, and quietly excused himself back out into the hallway.
"So… Saito," Kaminari drawled, clasping his hands in a picture of innocence, "Present Mic sure did say something interesting."
Hitomi fisted the sleeves of her hoodie, the ends balled up in her hands.
Before Mina could swoop in and clobber him, Sero continued for him, his voice a bit gentler.
"Why didn't you ever mention them?"
Hitomi's ears sat low on her head. "In Somei, things were… different after people found out. I didn't want things to be different here too. Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize." Jirou quickly assured. "We all probably would'a done the same if we were in your position."
Some of the weight lifted, and Hitomi relished the soft hand now petting her head. Leave it to Momo to always know when to give her wordless support.
"Welcome to the final battle of the UA High School Sports Festival! In just a moment here, we'll see which first years come out on top! Yes, it all comes down to this, folks! From the Hero course, Shouto Todoroki! Versus, his classmate, Katsuki Bakugou! Now, begin!"
Given absolutely no time to prepare for it, Todoroki sent out a glacier, just as big as the one he froze Sero in during the first round.
"Todoroki starts with a crazy ice blast! Bakugou seems to have been completely buried! Is it possible we're already got a winner down there?!"
Ignoring the painful pinch on her raw soles, Hitomi stood and leaned over the railing to get a closer view.
Her ears twitched, and she cracked a smile.
The ice splintered, and shattered apart to reveal a man-made tunnel, with Bakugou standing in the opening.
"He used his explosions to tunnel through the ice like some kinda mole man!" Sero gawked.
Kaminari almost looked offended at the absurd show of power. "These two are insane."
Bakugou launched himself through the air with precise shots of his Quirk, maneuvering himself out of the way of Todoroki's right side. Midair, he grabbed Todoroki's hair and shirt, throwing him with a blast toward the nearest boundary line.
"Are you underestimating me? Idiot!" Bakugou roared, sending the other teen flying.
Hitomi felt something pull in her gut, her ears pinned straight at the unfolding fight. The odd sensation in her stomach faded, however, when Todoroki caught himself on a ramp of ice, and skated back around.
"Todoroki surfs an ice wave to avoid going out of bounds! Looks like fun!"
Bakugou came at him again, and this time, Todoroki caught his arm with his left hand. And for a moment, everything stilled.
"Do it, Shouto!" Came the distant order from the stands.
Hitomi shuddered, remembering that voice vividly. Always followed in her mind by the harsh ringing of a sharp slap.
Todoroki threw Bakugou aside. Not a single ember sparking to life.
"Bakugou timed his explosions and grabbed Todoroki's left side on purpose. He's done his research." Mr. Aizawa took the reins for a moment. "His aptitude for this becomes more apparent with every fight. Todoroki's doing well so far, but his attacks are too simple. It almost seems like he lost his spark after the match with Midoriya."
"You bastard!" Bakugou raged, fire crackling between his hands. "I'll tell you what'll happen if you make a fool outta me! I'll kill you! I don't want there to be any doubt that I'm the best student at the festival! That's only possible if you come at me as hard as you can! There's no point if you don't fight with the same power you used against Deku! If you don't wanna win this, why are you even here?! Show everyone you're trying to destroy me!" He finished and raced at his opponent.
Todoroki stood there, not moving to dodge or deflect. He didn't move at all.
Not until Midoriya appeared at Hitomi's side, cupping his free hand around his mouth.
"Come on, Todoroki! Don't give up! Do your best!"
Hitomi stared at him, and with something stirring in her chest, she followed his example.
"You can win this! Beat him at full power!"
First a faint flicker, then an outburst of fire. Just like his fight with Midoriya
Bakugou blasted himself into the air again, aiming his palms on opposite sides to spin his body like a drill at Todoroki.
"Howitzer Impact!"
But right before Bakugou reached him, Todoroki's fire trembled and died, burning out.
The ensuing boom from Bakugou's attack destroyed the ice littering the field, and sent a wave of heat up into the stands.
Hitomi hunkered down, covering her ears. The smell of burnt caramel was so strong she could almost detect it on her tongue, a strange mixture of bitterness, and sugar.
"Woo-ho-ho! Bakugou combined speed and rotation with a huge blast like he used against Uraraka! He turned himself into a human missile!" Present Mic said this all without taking a breath. "Todoroki didn't fire off the flame attack that wow'ed us in his match with Midoriya! So what has become of our two top competitors?!"
The smoke slowly cleared, making the stage visible once more.
Hitomi frowned sympathetically, watching Bakugou force himself up onto his feet. He started in a shaky stumble, then broke into a sprint. He reached Todoroki, who sat unconscious out of bounds, and lifted him up by his shirt.
"You— stop messing around! This isn't a win for me unless you try harder! It can't end this way! Now get up—"
Standing behind him, Midnight activated her Quirk. Breathing in the pheromones, Bakugou trailed off, and fell. He laid slumped beside Todoroki, knocked out.
Midnight raised her right hand.
"Todoroki is out of bounds! That means, Bakugou is the winner!"
"And with that, the final match is officially over! The first-year champion of the UA Sports Festival is… Katsuki Bakugou from Class 1-A!"
The audience went ballistic, making a cacophony of cheers and applause.
But Bakugou wasn't awake to hear it.
…
"The first-year students have completed all of the events for the UA Sports Festival. Now it's time to relax and enjoy the awards ceremony!"
After Midnight's announcement, a series of fireworks set off, lighting up the sky above the stadium. And with a pop of confetti, the podiums rose from the ground.
Hitomi meekly played with the drawstrings of her hoodie, head ducked. Beside her, sharing the third place spot, was Tokoyami, who was handling the attention much better than her.
On the second place level, Todoroki stoically stared off to the side, his left hand clenched.
And then there was the winner. Bakugou stood on his panel, chained up to a pillar to keep him from jumping off. A metal box was cuffed entirely over his hands to keep his Quirk from setting off. And finally, there was a bulky muzzle over his mouth, muffling his enraged yelling.
"Now, let's break out the hardware! Of course, there's only one person worthy of distributing the awards—" Midnight said leadingly, her voice followed by the iconic laugh they all knew.
"Citizens!" Standing atop the stadium dome, and jumping down as if it was no big deal, All Might made his presence known. "I am here with the medals—"
"—The Number One Hero!" Midnight finished, being loudly talked over by All Might, though unintentionally
He landed, and there was a noticeably awkward pause.
"Ruined that, didn't I?" Midnight sheepishly asked. Clearing her throat, she lifted the medals out for him. "So, now that you're here, All Might, why don't you start the presentation?"
He took the two bronze medals first, and despite having been trained under him for a few classes, suddenly the Hero's presence felt overwhelming.
"Young Tokoyami, congratulations." All Might put the ribbon around his neck, speaking in a more subdued tone compared to his usual boisterous voice. "You showed great strength out there."
Tokoyami lifted his head. "Your words humble me, sir."
All Might opened his arms, embracing the boy gently. "However, you've more training to do if you're going to be able to fight against different kinds of Villains. You're not going to be able to rely on your Quirk in every battle you face." He pulled back.
Tokoyami gazed at his medal. "Yes, sir."
"Young Saito,"
Hitomi twitched, forcing herself to meet his eyes. "Y-yes?"
For a second it looked like All Might's smile softened, before he lifted the ribbon of her medal, carefully avoiding her ears as he slid it over her head. "Like Young Tokoyami, you must hone your skills. Your strength is only reliable when you know what to do with it.
Hitomi's shoulders fell. She knew that already. What good was her Quirk if she was rendered mentally incapable because of it? It would only lead to more incidents of reckless actions that had sent her to Recovery Girl's office.
"That being said," All Might took her in his arms like he did Tokoyami, patting her lightly on the back. "Your parents would be so incredibly proud to see how far you've come today. Congratulations."
Hitomi's eyes widened, and started to sting. When All Might stepped back, she was grateful he didn't mention the fresh tears dripping down her cheeks.
"T-thank you, sir." She sniffled, reaching up and clasping her hand around her medal tightly.
He moved on to Todoroki, bestowing the silver medal with some hushed words. Then came Bakugou.
"All Might…" The blonde growled as soon as the muzzle was removed. "Winning first place this way… doesn't prove that I'm the best one here! Even if the world considers me the winner, I refuse to accept it like this!"
All Might, taken aback, cleared his throat. "In a world where we're constantly being compared to one another. There are very few who can keep their eyes focused on the top spot. You're one of them." All Might held up the gold medal. "Please accept this medal. Even if you have to think of it as a scar. Something you'll never forget."
Hitomi was surprised by what a good analogy that was. But unfortunately it wasn't her that needed to be swayed.
"I don't want that piece of garbage!"
"Come on, now." All Might tried putting it on him.
Bakugou leaned his head back, catching the ribbon on the bridge of his nose, not letting it get any further. "Get that shit off'a me, you idiot!" The ribbon slid down, hooking in his open mouth.
Good enough.
"Here they are! The winners of this year's sports festival! But listen closely. Any of you first years could have ended up standing on these podiums. Think about what you've done today. You've challenged each other, learned, and climbed even closer toward your goals of being Pros. I think the next generation of Heroes is proving to be our most promising one yet!" All Might pointed a finger to the sky. "So I have one more thing to say! I want to hear everyone yell it with me! You know what it is—"
"Plus—"
"Thanks everyone for your hard work!
"—Ultra!"
"Eh?" Hitomi cocked her head.
"What?! That was the perfect time to say Plus Ultra, All Might!"
"W-well, yeah, I guess… but everyone did such a good job!"
…
"Hito! You won!"
"I mean, not really, but—" Hitomi chose to shrug it off, hoisting up Hana and holding her on her hip.
The little girl beamed, playing with the shining medal hanging over the pinkette's chest.
"How're you feeling?" Ayami fretted, wringing her hands while eyeing the bruise around her neck, then all the bandages on Hitomi's hands, and the one on her nose. And she knew there were even more hidden by the girl's clothes.
"Fine. Mostly." Hitomi started, then admitted when Nori scowled in warning.
"Let's get some food in you." He groaned, as if he actually considered it was a chore, fishing out his keys. "Lord knows you'll need it."
Hitomi chuckled, the small family keeping close in the masses of exiting audience members.
"Where's Momo?" Ayami peered around, expecting to see the familiar ponytail of spiky raven hair.
"She's checking out some of the food stalls. Said she wanted to restore her lipids." Hitomi bounced Hana, ignoring the pain in her hands, the little girl's giggles being worth it. "Anyway, did anything interesting happen while I was kicking major butt?"
She had asked the question as more of a joke, but Hana perked up, her long ears sitting straight atop her head attentively.
"Nori met a girl!"
Hitomi snorted, but paused when she saw Nori stiffen as if caught.
She gasped. "Wait, is she serious?!"
Nori rounded on her, his cheeks dusted pink. "Is it really so surprising that a girl would be interested in me?!"
"No," Hitomi deadpanned, "it's shocking."
Nori moved as if he was planning to throttle her, but Ayami held him back.
"It was over by the candy string! She was so pretty! An' tall! An' she had blonde hair, and she was wearing a cos—"
"It's not a big deal! She just gave me her number, that's all!"
"Well, are you gonna call her?" Hitomi interrogated him eagerly, her tail swinging. "You gotta call her!"
Nori grimaced, crossing his arms. "Look, I'm sure she's too busy for me to bug her. Besides, she's not exactly… my type."
"You have enough options to have a type?"
Nori mimed strangulation at her.
"I'm sure she wouldn't have given you her number if she didn't have the time for a relationship." Ayami reasoned.
"What'd you even do to get her attention?" Hitomi questioned, unbothered that Hana was now braiding a random lock of her hair.
Nori scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well… I kinda called her out for cutting in line."
Hitomi waited, and when he didn't continue, she gawked. "She gave you her number for publicly embarrassing her?!"
"It's not like that! She seemed, I dunno, impressed? Like she hadn't ever had anyone call her on her bullshit before."
"Might've helped that you were holding Hana." Ayami chimed in.
Hitomi nodded slowly, mouth forming an 'O' in understanding. "I get it now. It was 'cause you had the whole, responsible prospective dad thing going on. I told you that flaunting around how good you are with Hana would one day land you a date. I'm taking partial credit for this."
"Like hell you are!"
"Language."
"Yeah, language, Nori!"
"You little…!"
Hitomi smiled, finding comfort in their back-and-forth. It was nice after the stressful day. She was just glad they had the next two days off school to recuperate, and knew those forty-eight hours would likely be spent sleeping.
Yeah, sleep sounded pretty good.
…
Walking side-by-side through the crowded streets of Kamino Ward, two men in their thirties carried an equal share of groceries, making soft and easy conversation as they went.
"So then she was reported to HR, which I think was a little overboard, in my opinion." The first man said to the other walking beside him. His dark brown hair was combed back out of his face, some matching scruff dusting his chin. His eyes were as dark as coal, making it nearly impossible to tell where his pupils stopped and iris began. "But I wasn't there when it happened, you know, so I can't say for sure if…" The man trailed off, noticing his partner was no longer next to him.
When he looked back he saw his partner had fallen behind, staring transfixed in the window of an electronics store, watching the setup of televisions through a pair of aviator sunglasses. His hair was longer, swooped up and to the side in a gravity defying style, and was colored the shade of ash.
The brunette opened his mouth to ask what it was that got his attention, but when he himself checked what was being shown on the TVs, he sucked in a sharp breath.
It was a broadcast of the UA Sports Festival, and the scene unfolding onscreen was shared by a white and red haired boy, and a dog eared pinkette.
He pursed his lips, when it did a zoom-in, first on the boy, then on her.
"Are you okay?" The brunette cautiously asked, tentatively resting a hand on the other's shoulder.
The grey haired man jerked, as if snapped out of a trance. He hastily looked away from the screen, trying to shrug off how seeing that girl made him feel.
He cleared his throat. "Uh, ye-yeah. Just…"
He made the mistake of glancing back up, just in time to see those wide fuchsia eyes lock with the camera. She blinked, then put on a sheepish smile, and waved.
His heart stopped, or maybe it leapt? It did something, and a mixture of sickness and something else stirred his stomach.
"Come on, let's head home? Take your mind off of it…" The brunette gently took his hand, leading him away from the screens.
But he knew when these things— these reminders —happened, his partner tended to shut down for a few days, until he could successfully push it all out of his mind once more.
Hitomi Saito was a name expressly forbidden from ever being uttered around his husband, and for good reason.
What she said:
"Beat him at full power!"
How it sounded:
"Beat him at your full power!"
What she meant:
"You can beat him when he's at full power!"
As of right now, Hitomi likes Bakugou. She thinks he's cool, interesting, and driven, among other things. Does this mean she likes him? Absolutely not. And not for a while. But having grown up with Nori, she's used to the tsundere sort of attitude, and is all-in-all unfazed by it. And unfortunately for Bakugou, Hitomi's now got her heart set on them becoming friends, which means that it's inevitable.
(And no, I will not tell you who those two men are.
…But yes, their designs are essentially copy-and-pasted from a different famous shounen anime. Can you guess which?)