Preydator || Todoroki x OC

•30: End of the Beginning•

I stammer as I tear my eyes away only to see his eyes on my own lips. I gulp and I see him do the same, his adam's apple bobbing up and down from nervousness. 'I just really really like you.'

-----

"Shoto..." I trail off. "I really li-"

A knock on the door interrupts us. We immediately part as the door swings open and Recovery Girl walks in. I blink, snapping out of whatever just happened between us and disappointment fills my chest. I frown, my lips feeling empty and my body unsatisfied. I feel like a child whose candy was waved right in front of their face before being ripped away.

Both us look to Recovery Girl who raises an eyebrow at us. "Utano, please step out of the room while I perform a check up for Todoroki."

"Right." I nod as I step out of the room. As the door shuts behind me, I lean back on the wall of the hallway. 'What was I doing?!' I rake my fingers through my hair in frustration. 'I almost just spilled my feelings for him and could've received maybe a little more than reciprocation!' I think as my mind wanders back to Shoto's lips. My heart pounds at the memory and I reach up to touch my own lips delicately with my fingertips.

The infirmary door opens again as Shoto steps out and we stare at each other. I want to pick up right where we left off, but I know it's impossible now. 'The opportunity was there and now it's gone.' I frown deeply.

"Let's go." Shoto says to me indifferently.

"Oh, right." A heavy atmosphere filled with unsaid words left hanging in the air surrounds us as we begin to walk back to the main area in silence.

Ochako, Tsu, and Kaminari wave at Shoto and I as we approach our classmates sitting in the audience. Iida and a girl from class 1-B's fight is over quickly and Shoto and I both watch in awkward silence, neither of us bold enough to speak up about what happened in the infirmary- or rather, didn't.

One match turns into two, which turns into three, which marks the end of the quarter-finals. Shoto leaves us and walks back down to the participant waiting rooms for his fight with Iida.

Ochako taps me on the shoulder. "Did something happen between you two?" She asks me.

"Don't tell me you two got into another argument." Mina says as she moves into Shoto's now empty seat next to me.

I shake my head. "No, it's nothing like that..." I laugh nervously and trail off as my mind wanders back to my almost-confession and almost-first kiss.

Mina and Ochako smirk at my expression. "Ah, I see." Mina giggles.

"Your face totally gives it away." Ochako laughs lightly.

My cheeks heat up. "W-What are you two thinking?! Whatever it is, it can't be right." I stubbornly huff out.

"Sure, sure." Mina replies in a tone that makes me think she definitely does not believe me.

Our attention is brought back to the main event as Present Mic announces the commencing of Iida and Shoto's fight. I frown as I examine Shoto's movements. 'He's definitely less focussed.' I note. 'I mean, with everything going on for him, it's expected.'

Shoto eventually manages to clog up Iida's engines with his ice, ending the round with his as the victor. Tokoyami and Bakugo's fight is also over pretty quickly after Bakugo figured out that Dark Shadow has a weakness to the light he produces from expolsions. As the giant screen in the stadium flashes from Bakugo's scowling face to the tournament pairings, Mina says, "Todoroki vs Bakugo! This will be a really interesting final round."

The green-haired Midoriya sitting next to Ochako suddenly pipes up. "I agree. Not only quirk-wise would it be very entertaining, but they're both extremely competitive in their owns ways. Kacchan would definitely be....." Midoriya ends up mumbling to himself.

"Deku." Ochako taps him on the shoulder, interrupting the rambling boy as Present Mic announces the finals.

"Sorry." He responds sheepishly.

"For the very last round of the tournament and Sports Festival, we have Katsuki Bakugo versus Shoto Todoroki!" Present Mic exclaims and the crowd cheers in excitment as the two boys walk into the arena.

Everyone watches from the edges of their seats as the final round proceeds. The two seem to be very evenly matched as Bakugo shoots taunts and insults at Shoto as if they're bullets. On the other hand, Shoto still seems to be extremely out of it. The look of uncertainty persisting from the fight with Midoriya, and there's no doubt he must be thinking of what happened in the infirmary as well.

"USE YOUR FIRE ON ME, DAMMIT!" Bakugo angrily yells, his voice heard all the way from the stands without need for a microphone.

'Come on, get your head in the game.' I say mentally as I observe Shoto beginning to give up on the fight.

"Use your left side, Shoto!" Endeavor's voice can be heard above the crowd. I click my tongue in annoyance as Shoto's spirits only weaken as he hears his father's voice.

"Am I not strong enough to make you use it, huh?!" Bakugo snaps as he rushes forward. "If you have no intention of winning, don't stand in front of me!"

I abruptly stand up from my seat and I see Midoriya do the same. We both yell out his name, and he flinches. "Do your best!" We shout in unison.

The frost on Shoto's right side begins to melt as his left side ignites into flames. Bakugo charges forward, using his explosions to whirl himself around at an alarming rate. My eyes widen as Shoto freezes, his flames extinguishing again, but Bakugo doesn't stop.

"HOWITZER IMPACT!" Bakugo yells and unleashes an enormous explosion. We all wince as the stadium shakes and the force blows away Shoto's ice crystals in the arena. The dust clears and debris settle to reveal Bakugo lying on the concrete floor and Shoto unconscious on the other side of the stadium.

Bakugo gets up and runs over to Shoto's unconscious body. "I wanted an indisputable first place, dammit! First place like this....this is...." He falls to the ground as Midnight's quirk fills the arena below us.

"Todoroki is out of bounds, which means," Midnight announces. "Bakugo is the winner!"

The crowd roars as the screens flash to show Bakugo's scowling face with the words "winner!" behind him.

"The UA Sports Festival is over!" Present Mic yells. "The winner of this year's festival is......Katsuki Bakugo of Class 1-A!"

And with that, the Sports Festival comes to an end, however, more pressing matters are sure to follow.

——-

The school bell rings, signalling the start of class and we all settle down at our desks.
"Good morning, everyone." Aizawa greets us as he unzips himself from his yellow, caterpillar-like, sleeping bag. "As you all know, many pro heroes saw you all perform during the Sports Festival and have offered you all internships." He states. "However, before we can proceed with these internships, we have something urgent to take care of immediately."
Aizawa pulls up a spreadsheet on the board, the title bolded in red. "The Scarlet Banquet."