Something is tickling my nose.

Vexed, I turn to the other side.

The tickling intensifies.

I sneeze.

Alarm clocks are supposed to make sound, not motion.

Too tired to open my eyes, I fumble to find the accursed alarm clock that is ruining my sleep.

When I don't feel any plastic or metal, I finally open my eyes and observe my surroundings blearily.

Todoroki-kun is sitting just by the bedside, laughing wholeheartedly.

"I was trying to wake you up, and you began to flail your arm like you were swatting a pesky mosquito," he grins. "First your death shouts, then your dreams coalescing into reality, now this. You have the strangest sleeping habits, Hanada-chan."

Feeling embarrassed, I scramble whatever remains of my dignity. "I thought you were an alarm clock. A moving alarm clock."

"Just like the time when you mistook for me some monstrous cross of a human and a spider. Was it a human torso with spider legs or a spider head with a human body? I can't recall. Perhaps you remember?" he teases.

The level of mortification only rises, so I shove him a little too hard in the chest. He topples out of his chair, and I bend over, concerned. But he has the gall to only snicker harder. My sight falls on a maroon nasturtium in his hand. He tickled my nose with the flower! The audacity! Thoroughly annoyed, I huff and frown. "Is it time for the next match? Who are the participants?" I question, desperately hoping to change the situation.

"It's Bakugou and Tokoyami," he gasps between his chortles. "Bakugou's vocabulary should be the tune to an alarm clock. So loud and colorful that even the comatose would awaken."

I groan in frustration before laying down again with my back to him. I wish I could just bury myself here and never come out.

"Come on. Get up," he urges. "Now you can watch all the matches in one sitting. You made it in fourth place. Congratulations, Hanada-chan. It was fun sparring with you."

Realization strikes me a lightning bolt. That's right. I was beyond the boundary, so I was disqualified. Shigaraki and Hanada-sama both wanted me to qualify in the Top Three. I placed one less. Will they upset? Shigaraki might just grumble and scold, but Hanada-sama? He will do unspeakable things to me. All I can do is give them information about the U.A. students based on my observations, but that won't be enough to spare me from his punishment.

"Hanada-chan, let's go," Todoroki-kun orders again.

"C-coming. Just a m-moment. C-congratulations to you, too. Y-y-you're a S-Sports Festival finalist," I stammer.

He looks at me with a worried expression when I get up, but I wave it off.

The match has already started when we arrive. Bakugou-san launches explosion after explosion, weakening Tokoyami-san's Dark Shadow. Light is his weakness ... I watch the finale, where Bakugou-san leaps in the air a full 180 degrees to land behind Tokoyami-san. He blasts his brightest explosion yet, rendering Tokoyami-san unable to fight. Tokoyami-san declares defeat, meaning that the ultimate match will be between Bakugou-san and Todoroki-kun.

Todoroki-kun leaves his seat, and when I ask him where he is going, he replies that he needs some time alone before his final match. "During the obstacle course, Bakugou told me that I had given my declaration of war to the wrong rival. During my match with Midoriya, Midoriya told me to accept my fire quirk as my own. And then there's all my arguments with Endeavor. Today has just been a really shitty day for me. There's just a lot I need to sort out, and I'd like to do it on my own, if that's all right with you."

"Oh, you don't need to ask permission from me for this. They're your feelings, so only you have the right to decide. By all means, go ahead. I'll be here, in the stadium, if you need me."

He smiles his thanks and exits.

When he reappears, it's for the match.

The match begins with Todoroki-kun releasing his signature wall of ice toward Bakugou-san. It's more controlled than the one in his first match. Bakugou-san blasts a tunnel through the wall and leaps over Todoroki-kun's left side when he proceeds to launch another ice wall. While somersaulting in midair, Bakugou-san grabs the collar of Todoroki-kun's uniform and throws him a large distance away. That jump is Bakugou-san's signature move, too.

Todoroki-kun lands on his bottom very hard. I wince at the pain that must be following. But before he tumbles out of bounds, a semicircle of ice blocks his path, keeping him within the arena. This semicircle grows to attack Bakugou-san, who deflects it with another leap. As Bakugou-san nears Todoroki-kun, from the left again, he bursts another fire explosion. At the last second, Todoroki-kun grasps his forearm and propels him back into the ice. "Is my power not enough for you to use it?" Bakugou-san gasps as Todoroki-kun crouches from the force of the propulsion. Bakugou-san becomes angrier. "How long are you going to keep fooling around? I'll kill you! What I want is an overwhelming victory! There's no meaning to beating a half-assed guy who doesn't want to use his full power! How can I prove myself if I defeat you so easily! Don't stand in front of me if you don't have the will to fight anymore!" When Todoroki-kun stands up, he concludes with, "WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE, YOU BASTARD!"

Bakugou-san would be loath to hear this, but he is not much different from Midoriya-san. They're both Gryffindors on a quest to make one person embrace the source of his trauma. Noble but irritating. Not to mention, this is indeed a battle of male egos.

Todoroki-kun says nothing, and patches of ice dot his cheek and neck. Bakugou-san jumps again, spiralling in midair with his quirk. I can hear Midoriya-san encourage Todoroki-kun from near my seat. I suppose both their words reach Todoroki-kun because flames start to billow from him just as Bakugou-san is about to make impact. Bakugou-san crashes into him like a torpedo, causing ice and fire to rain everywhere. When the smoke and debris has settled down, I see Bakugou-san lying stomachfirst on the concrete and Todoroki-kun lying unconscious on top of his own boulders of ice, well beyond the white line. Both appear bruised and bloody. This seems to enrage Bakugou-san, who gets up and charges toward the incapacitated Todoroki-kun. He grabs him by the front of his shirt and shakes him violently. "ARE YOU KIDDING WITH ME! THIS KIND OF ... This ..." He never finishes his sentence because Midnight-sensei tears a strip off her costume, spreading sleep-inducing pheromones. Bakugou-san slumps over, asleep, as Sensei declares him as the victor of this year's Class 1 Sports Festival.

Perhaps I am imagining it, but he seems pained even asleep. As though this is not how he wanted to win.

The med-robots arrive to take both boys to the infirmary. I leave my seat to follow them.

I'm going to have a talk with both of them.

When I get there, I see them lying in opposite beds.

Bakugou-san wouldn't appreciate it if he woke up to see me by his bedside. Instead, he would rage at me, and I would lose the chance of a proper discussion with him. Todoroki-kun, however ... I do owe him for all the times he's stayed by mine.

It's like our roles are reversed. This time, I am the one pulling a chair by his bedside, while he dozes peacefully. I uncap my thermos and read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, patiently waiting for him to awaken.

But Bakugou-san wakes up first. Just as I turn a page, I hear the rustling of bedsheets from his side and glance up. He is groggy and grouchy, grumbling under his breath. When he sees me looking, he rolls his eyes and walks toward me. He spares one long stare at Todoroki-kun's resting figure, an undetectable emotion in his eyes. To my surprise, he leaves without addressing me.

Stunned, and a little insulted, I call after him, "Congratulations on your victory. You've won first place."

The look of contempt and fury he gives me ... Really, if looks could kill, I would be cinders right now. My observation was correct. Winning did not matter so much to him as the method of winning. He leaves, slamming the door behind him.

I return to my book, and sometime later, Todoroki-kun wakes up. He is groggier. Before he can ask the usual questions, I answer them for him. "You're in the school infirmary. Recovery Girl treated your wounds: some minor frostbites and burns. It's early evening right now. The Festival is over. Bakugou-san ranked first, you ranked second, and Tokoyami-san ranked third. In about half an hour, the medal ceremony will commence."

"Thanks," he smiles wearily. He rises to sit up, and I help him. As I adjust the pillows, I ask him, "How are you feeling? Should I call Recovery Girl?"

"No, no. I'm fine. I think this is the first time I've been in the hospital bed, and you've been in that chair. It feels weird. And what are you reading?"

I pass the book to him, and as he skims, I comment, "True. All this time, you've been teasing me for my sleeping behavior. But lo and behold, you're not a perfect sleeper either. Did you know that your mouth parts slightly when you're deep asleep?"

He stares at me long and hard. "It does not."

"Oh, but it does."

"It does not," he says vehemently. Then, after a pause, he asks, "Did I snore?"

"Thankfully, no."

He stubbornly remains quiet after that, a little too invested in my novel. Meanwhile, I pass him a glass of water and then a plate of monaka sweets. This gets him to break his oath of silence. "Where did you get those?"

"From one of the stalls when we were shopping earlier. When you weren't looking, I bought a few boxes. Turns out I had just enough bills to cater my sweet tooth a little more."

"And you got the ones shaped like cherry blossoms, chrysanthemums, and plum blossoms. Of course, you got the flower-shaped ones."

Now my own ego rises. "Be gracious that I'm giving some to you. Especially the ones with an ice cream filling. Otherwise, my greedy self would have hoarded all of them for myself."

He snorts and bites into one of the ice cream ones. "We went shopping hours ago. How did you manage to keep the cream from melting?"

"When we returned, I found a clear plastic container lying on a table. I took it, filled it with snow, put the monakas, and hid the entire thing in my locker. Every once in a while I returned to restock it with fresh snow."

He laughs as he envisions the ordeal. I find myself laughing with him as I think about it, too. In fact, I laugh so hard I choke on my own sweet. We quiet after some time. He brings another monaka to his mouth, but pauses. He pulls it back and gazes at it intently. "I think I'm ready to see my mom," he speaks suddenly. I say nothing, waiting for him to continue. "You're right that I need the closure. If I'm going to be a Pro-Hero, I need to accept both aspects of my quirk as my own. To do that, I need to make my present better than my past. It won't be easy. I still have my doubts about using fire in the scope of hero training. And I don't know she'll feel seeing my again after all these years."

The ice cream from the monaka is seeping, so I set his hand down to the plate. "That's a good start. When you're given the opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn't give things, you take things. I can't speak for your father or anyone else, but I certainly believe that you shouldn't be pushed to overcome your trauma. I won't even say that you should forget because trauma is not something that can be forgotten. In all honestly, it shouldn't."

He smiles softly at my words. "Thanks," he whispers. "You have no idea how much I needed to hear that."

I return the gentle smile and pick up a new monaka to bring to his mouth. He reaches for it, but I move it out of his grasp before bringing it back to his mouth. He opens it and I put the sweet in. As he chews, I remind him, "That bouquet offer from before is still open. It's free of charge, by the way."

He chokes on the sweet this time. "Terrible business move, Hanada-chan. You'll go into loss." I chuckle and when it dies down, he continues. "Thank you for the offer, but I want to gift her myself."

"Just as well." A thought about the time forms in my mind, and I briefly glance at my watch. "The ceremony starts in ten minutes. We must leave now."

Under different circumstances, I might have chortled. With how Bakugou-san's arms have been restrained in heavy manacles, waist tied to a block of concrete by belt, and the lower half of his face covered by a mouth guard designed to keep rabid animals from snapping, and his entire being thrashing against being contained like this, the sight would have been comical. Hilarious, even.

So why am I not laughing? Why do I feel pained seeing him like this? The answer comes to me moments later. I remember seeing footage of the Sludge Monster incident from so many months back. He was held hostage by the perpetrator in a position not much different to the one now. He couldn't escape. He's reliving his trauma from then. The other students from our class don't seem to realize this connection, as they are snickering and bickering. Tokoyami-san, however, appears composed as ever, and Todoroki-kun understandably appears sullen.

Midnight-sensei proceeds with the ceremony. "Time to cover the medals!" she declares enthusiastically. "And the one who'll present the medals this year is naturally none other than-"

"IT IS I! AND I AM HERE WITH MEDALS!" a loud and boisterous voice exclaims. It's all too familiar. All Might-sensei arrives with a splendour and flourish, landing just in front of the podium. He approaches Tokoyami-san first. "Congratulations, Tokoyami, my boy! You're a tough customer. In order to crush that problem of unfavorable matchups, you can't keep relying on your quirk. If you train up your strength, your own potential, your chances of taking it will increase in kind!" he says as he puts the bronze medal over his neck and envelops him in a bone-crushing hug.

Then he approaches Todoroki-kun with the silver medal. "Todoroki, my boy. Congratulations. You must have had your reasons for suppressing your left side during the final match, right?"

I strain to hear how Todoroki-kun responds. Even with my hearing amplified to the maximum, his voice is no louder than a whisper. "The fight with Midoriya triggered my confusion, and I lost grasp of what I should do. I wanted to be a hero like you. But, I thought if I tried to get over it all just by myself, that would be wrong. There are still some things I need to come to terms with."

All Might-sensei brings him in a seemingly less suffocating hug - even his back pats seem gentler. "Your expression is completely different from before. I won't pry any deeper. But I know that now, you can come to a reckoning without a doubt."

Finally, he turns to Bakugou-san. "And lastly, Bakugou my boy!" he bellows. Seeing his restraints, he comments much more quietly, "My, this is too much." The next second, his exuberance returns. "Your foreshadowing was exemplary!" he shouts as he removes the mouth guard.

Bakugou-san is no less energetic. Perhaps more so. "All Miiiight. A Number One like this ain't worth shit! Even if society acknowledges it, if I don't then it's TRASH!" His expression contorts into one that would terrify even demons. Once again, I should laugh, but I don't.

All Might-sensei tries to deflect. "Um. Well, you'll never stop being continuously appraised by society, so there aren't many who'd form an absolute, unchanging impression of you out there." He holds out the gold medal to him. "So take this and bear it! Bear it as a 'wound,' so that you shall never forget!"

"I told you. I DON'T NEED IT!" he protests.

But Sensei pays no mind as he tugs the ribbon of the medal into his mouth, so that Bakugou-san looks like a dog holding a bone in his mouth.

With a few more encouraging words, the ceremony ends.

I find Bakugou-san in an empty lounge.

His eyes are shut tightly as if to hide from all his emotions.

He opens them when he hears my cane clacking on the floor.

"If it weren't for that goddamn cane, no one would know when you arrive and leave. You walk like a demon, all quiet and surefooted and all that crap," is his greeting.

"That's funny. During the ceremony, I compared your expression of wrath as more frightening than that of demons."

He sneers. "Are you here to gloat or something? Rub salt in my wounds?"

"Quite the contrary, actually. I am here to talk."

"Talk about what?"

I sit across from him and lean back, one leg crossed over the other. "Many things. Let's start with what happened recently. Are you all right?"

"Huh?"

"I noticed how you were resisting being restrained. Others may not have remembered, but I recalled your encounter with the Sludge Monster. You were unable to fight back because the Sludge Monster trapped you just like that. It seemed like your mind kept flash backing to the events of that day, so I came to inquire," I explain.

He becomes defensive. "Why do you care so much?"

"I'm playing therapist today."

He gets up. "Well, I don't want any. I'm not a charity case, so reserve your pity for someone else."

As he walks toward the door, I speak. "I never said that I pitied you. And I definitely did not think of you as a charity case. I am genuinely curious about your wellbeing. So I'll ask this again: Are you all right?"

He regards me suspiciously before responding. "I'm fine."

"Good. Now sit down because we have much to discuss." His disdain returns, but he takes his seat obediently. "Now, you should know that I did not mean to mock you when I congratulated you for becoming champion. You were leaving without a word, so I felt a little hurt. It was also a test to see whether it really mattered to you how you won."

"Did you get your answer?"

"I did, which brings me to my last point. Why did you make that declaration of war with me?" He glares at me quietly. I return it coldly. "Do you know what I think? I think you did that because your ego was bruised. Todoroki-kun told me how you said to him that he gave his declaration of war to the wrong competitor. Before the start of the Festival, you were angry that he chose to beat Midoriya-san instead of you. The class often talked of the two of you being the strongest, so the fact that he did not choose you made you believe that he did not consider you a worthy opponent. To soothe your ego and maintain some semblance of power, you directed your anger at me. You gave me your declaration of war. That statement that now was my chance that I was truly your equal was a lie to make me accept. Am I wrong?"

He glares fiercely at me. That is all the confirmation I need. "You insulted me immensely today, Bakugou-san. Because of your ego, mine was hurt. Such a fool I was to think that you would actually let me prove my worth. I really looked forward to battling against you, and when we did not, I was saddened. But then there was your behavior during the final match. Your motives were clear as water. That was when I realized the truth."

He grits his teeth, in frustration or shame or both, I do not know. I get up. "You can call me names and demean me all you like. Bully me with 'Three Legs' all you want. But know that I am done trying to show you that I am more than just a cripple. What point is there proving yourself to someone who does not think you're even worth the effort? Goodbye, Bakugou-san."

And with that, I leave, not once looking behind to see if he shows the slightest bit of remorse or not.

Note: I have copied some dialogue from one of the English-translated versions of the manga. The links to the chapters are here:

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-43/

.online/manga/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-44/

Citations:

"When you're given the opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn't give things, you take things." - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid