Preydator || Todoroki x OC

•15: Going South•

As we step outside to where the buses were waiting, Iida blows a whistle and directs everyone in an orderly fashion. I roll my eyes as I ignore him and board the bus first. I choose near the very back as everyone follows behind.

The reflection of my fox mask in the bus window catches me off guard as I remember the nightmare I had. I'm used to getting night terrors about my mom occasionally, but I've never had one where the fox wasn't protecting me or even tormenting me. I've always felt safe behind my mask, but now I'm not so sure. "You're weak." I could still vividly remember the words of the fox and crows mocking me in my dream.

"Rin?" I quickly snap out of my thoughts and tear my eyes away from my reflection to face Todoroki sitting next to me. The bus was now in motion, filled with the students conversing among themselves and Bakugo yelling about something or other. "Are you okay?"

I nod and sigh, leaning my head back on the seat. "Aizawa woke me up way too early today." I groan.

"You should sleep if you're tired. We won't arrive at USJ for another half hour." Todoroki says. "The window is a bit uncomfortable, so you can lean on me if you want."

My eyes widen and I feel blood rush to my cheeks. 'Is he bold or just dense?! Does he know how this sounds or is he incapable of feeling embarrassed?!' "N-No!" I flusteredly sputter. "Thanks! I meant no thanks." He frowns and I grimace, 'Now I feel bad.' "I-It's just that the left side of your hero costume isn't the most comfortable." I quickly make up an excuse.

"Oh, I see." He mutters, glancing down at the fake ice structures covering his side.

"Thanks though." I say as I turn my gaze away from him and out the window to calm myself. 'Holy fuck, I don't think I would've survived if I fell asleep on his shoulder!' I internally panic. 'I would be dead from embarrassment before I could even fall asleep!' I close my eyes and try to calm my fluttering heart. Whatever tiredness I was feeling earlier is definitely gone now. I try to distract myself by tuning into the others' conversations.

"Well, if you're talking about flashy and strong, it's gotta be Todoroki or Bakugo, right?" I catch Kirishima say. 

"Bakugo's always mad, though, so he doesn't seem like he'll be popular." Tsu retorts and I let out a small giggle.

Bakugo gets up. "WHAT THE HELL?!" He angrily exclaims, proving Tsu's point. "You want to fight?!"

"We haven't even known each other for that long, but it's amazing how everyone already knows your personality is crap steeped in sewage." Kaminari jokes teasingly.

"'The hell is with your vocabulary, bastard?!" Bakugo shouts out.

"Everyone, quiet down!" Iida nags, but his voice is lost in the chatter.

I crack a small smile. 'Small moments like this really remind me of back then.' I think as I reminisce about my middle school days when I was part of a class.

"We're here. Stop messing around." Aizawa interrupts the class as the buss comes to a halt in front of a large, glass dome roughly the same size as a small amusement park. As we leave the bus and enter the building, the pro hero Thirteen greets us warmly.

"Where's All Might?" I hear Aizawa ask Thirteen.

"He did a little too much work before getting here." Thirteen responds before whispering something to Aizawa and turning her attention back towards us.

"Welcome everyone to USJ, short for Unforseen Simulation Joint! Today we'll be learning how to use our quirks to save others. It's very easy to hurt people with our powers, but we must learn that we don't have this power to harm others." Thirteen explains. 

'As if their job doesn't including hurting people.' I say internally, drowning out the rest of Thirteen's heroic nonsense. 'There's no point in saving the weak. Prey exist to be eaten by predators; It's called natural selection babe.' I bite my lip as the dream forces its way back into my mind. 'I'm not weak like that rabbit. I'm a predator not the prey.' I tell myself, although I'm not sure if I'm stating a fact or reassuring myself anymore.

The lights in the building suddenly flicker and go out. A black-violet swirl of mist develops from nerar the fountain a few meters awar. It sputters and errupts into a giant, fog-like screen.

"Don't move!" Aizawa shouts out, everyone's faces quickly turn into one of shock. "Thirteen, protect the students."

'What the hell is that?' I think as dozens of people begin to walk out from the mist.

"What's happening? Is this like the entrance exam where the test's already started?" Kirishima asks nervously.

"Dont move a muscle!" Aizawa demands, putting on his goggles. A mixture of fear and dread washes over me as I realize he's dead serious. "Those are villains."

We all freeze on the spot, the fear really setting in now. 'I guess I was right about my hunch that I was going to hate this.' I note, my heart racing in my chest.

"How did they get past the sensors?" Yaoyorozu asks.

"They probably have someone using their quirk on them." Todoroki responds. 

"Thirteen, try calling someone for help. Evacuate the students. I'll hold them off." Aizawa orders.

"Looks like the radio waves are all jammed up too." Thirteen says. "I can't get ahold on the school."

Suddenly the black-violet mist appears around us, separating and swallowing students whole. I shriek as the mist slowly engulfs the right side of my body. "Rin!" Todoroki reaches out for me. I instinctively grab onto Todoroki's hand as he tries to pull me away.

"Todor-" The mist completely envelops me, blurring my vision and blocking out noise.

The mist fades and I immediately get up. 'Where am I?' I wonder as I look around my surroundings. I squint to see in the dim lighting and notice I'm standing on asphalt with yellow parking paint. I recognize the area as an underground parking lot. 'That quirk must be similar to a portal.' I note as I walk around, my footsteps echoing throughout the underground. 'Am I alone?' I ask myself as I begin searching for a way out- or rather, up.

"Todoroki?" I call out, my voice reverbrating as it echoes off the parking lot walls. I receive no response. I let out a sigh, 'I should've insisted on not participating.' I think to myself. I can't tell if I'm annoyed that I got caught up in something I didn't sign up for, or afraid. Probably a mixture of both.

I turn the corner and am almost blinded by the bright sunlight. 'What? I thought I was underground?' I quickly walk over to the ledge of the parking lot and look out. My eyes widen as I glance down, the floor so far away that even All Might might not be able to survive this fall. Because of the lack of windows or openings, I thought this parking lot was underground. I look around to see hundreds of villains fighting Aizawa and Thirteen and my classmates scattered around. 'I need to get down from here.' I think as I take a step back from the ledge with my casted foot. I freeze, my eyes widening and breath hitching in my throat. A shiver runs down my spine as I hear a footstep aligned with mine, but much lighter compared to my heavy plastic cast. If it weren't for the heavy chunk of plastic around my foot, it would've been almost impossible to tell they were someone else's footsteps being timed correctly with mine.

My heart pounds in my chest as an awful wave of fear floods my veins. 'At this point, jail might've been the better choice.'