Nat: The Beginning

Yay Sports

Nat

So the USJ was actually NOT very fun. I don't want to talk about it.

Let's just say that having you and your friends' lives put in danger and watching your legal guardian/teacher get his face crushed against the ground by a giant mutant bird is not exactly a great experience... 

The next thing coming up was the UA Sports Festival. I was honestly a little surprised they were still going to let it happen after the recent incident, but I was still excited. I was learning more and more every day and for once I actually kind of wanted to show off what I could do. 

A few of us decided to get some extra training in a few days before the festival. It was mostly an excuse to hang out, but we also wanted to do well since all eyes would be on us once we hit the stadium. 

"Alright see you later AJ!" 

"See ya!" 

I stayed behind for a minute to catch my breath after most people had already left. As I was packing my things, I heard a voice behind me. 

"Um hello. You're Natalie right?" 

I turned around to face a boy with half-red, half-white hair. I tried to ignore the way it fell perfectly around his face. It made me feel this strange feeling in my stomach...

Probably indigestion. 

"Yep that's me. Oh and you're Todoroki right?" 

"Shoto. I'm yes Todoroki," he said. 

I raised an eyebrow. 

"Wait no. I meant to say yes. Yes, I am Shoto Todoroki, your classmate." 

He started to turn as red as his hair. I just laughed. 

"Well hello 'Yes Todoroki.' It's nice to finally meet you," I said. 

"I'm sorry for my mistake. I'm not sure why I slipped up my words, but I just wanted to wish you luck at the Sports Festival," he said. "I noticed you have a very strong quirk. I hope you make it far. It would be an honor to compete against you." 

He talked kind of funny, but I guess it was a nice gesture. A little formal sure, but still nice. 

"Well thanks. Best of luck to you too." 

We stood there awkwardly for a good 30 seconds before he finally walked away. I could tell that social skills were not either of our strong suits...

That's ok. I doubt we'll really need them in the arena. 

____________________________________________

Finally the big day was upon us. 

Everything seemed like a blur as we got behind the starting line for the first event. I just remember locking eyes with that Todoroki kid before the race began. Then I ran as fast as I could. 

Right away I noticed Todoroki activate his quirk. I don't know why I was looking at him, but it saved me. I jumped before his ice froze me to the tunnel. I grabbed a piece of metal from some trinket that a support student dropped and used it to snowboard (or ice-board I guess) across the ice. 

I propelled myself forward with my quirk, quickly gaining on Bakugo and Todoroki. Somehow AJ came swooping down out of the sky behind me, Serena not too far behind. Those two were impressive. 

I kept up with the sled method to get across the tightropes, but I stopped short at the land mines. I saw one kid get shot up in the air, and as fun as that might seem, I decided to move cautiously. I was here to win. 

Suddenly, Midoriya made a huge explosion and I seized the opportunity. It used my "sled" to surf through the air. 

I was so close to the end now I could taste it. I turned to see Bakugo and Todoroki gaining on my fast though. 

No no no. 

I pushed myself to the limit, trying desperately to accelerate with my quirk, but I could only do so much as the boost from the explosions died down. I squeezed my eyes shut and gave one final push. 

Finally, I came skidding across the finish line. 

"In sixth place, Natalie Smith!" 

I opened my eyes and saw that AJ and Serena had barely beaten me across the line. Dang. I didn't do as good as I was hoping for, but still not bad. 

And hey, at least I didn't have a 10 million point bounty on my head for the next round...

__________________

Tsu convinced me to join her team for the Cavalry Battle. I was less than enthused to be working with Mineta, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. 

The three of us huddled inside Shojis arms, using our quirks to thwart any attempts to steal our points. It was utter chaos with all the drama and the explosions, which mostly came from Bakugo. Figures. 

Even though our strategy we pretty good, we didn't do the best. We didn't quite place in the top three, but the teachers did end up letting us choose 2 people from our team to advance. The guys agreed to let Tsu and I go on. 

I walked off the field feeling slightly defeated. I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, but I knew I still had a chance to prove myself with the 1 on 1 fights. 

"Hey you were great out there!" 

I turned to see the source of the voice. 

"Oh thanks Serena. You guys were awesome too! You stole fourth and fifth place from me." 

"I mean we are pretty awesome," said AJ. 

I laughed. "Well I look forward to beating you guys later then." 

"In your dreams." 

We took our seats in the stadium and waited for them to announce the matchups. I sat next to Tsu and AJ. 

"ALRIGHT AND HERE'S THE LINEUPS FOR TODAY'S FIGHTS. GOOD LUCK EVERYBODAYYYYYYYYY," Mic yelled. 

I scanned the board for my name and my face fell. 

"Well teammate," I said to Tsu, "It looks like it's gonna be you and me."