Blossoms of the Dark

LXXVI Selene: Poison

I'm a pessimist.

But for some unknown reason, I'm optimistic right now.

I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

I don't think I want to find out.

Todoroki-kun and I managed to keep things strictly professional, though I didn't miss the subtle barbs he made. When Lunch time started, I left for the gazebo. He didn't follow me, but my thoughts followed him. The situation could have been a lot worse. But where is eating right now? By the koi fish pools seems unlikely. Perhaps in the classroom. Or perhaps in the cafeteria hall for a change.

But worrying about Todoroki-kun isn't going to make me finish my lunch any faster. I fold up the hems of my trousers and remove my socks and shoes. I lie down on the pond deck, set my cane beside me, dip my feet in the pond water, and stare up at the clouds drifting by. Mechanically, my hand shifts between the food tray and my mouth. Perhaps this isn't the best position to be eating, but I can't bring myself to care. I feel some much-needed tranquility doing so.

I busy myself with reciting everything I learned from two nights of binge-watching previous U.A. Sports Festivals with Kurogiri and Shigaraki. We had sat on Shigaraki's bed - surprisingly, he only muttered inaudible words when Kurogiri suggested the idea - with Shigaraki in the middle and Kurogiri and I at the ends, eating popcorn and ranting at the matches. Specifically, Shigaraki was the one who ranted and grumbled. Kurogiri was the one to calm him down, and I, well, tried my best to ignore it all. However, I failed when Shigaraki pushed me off the bed in his frustration. At that point, I flung Shigaraki's legs to the side with my cane and sat between him and Kurogiri. I even took the popcorn bucket from him. Finally, he stopped being so energetic.

I get up and dry myself just a few minutes before Lunch ends. When I return to class, Todoroki-kun is already there. And true to his word, he doesn't talk. Neither do I. I take out my book and try to read. But I can't. It would have been so much easier had I never talked to him at the entrance exam all those months ago. Had I just ignored him then, none of this would have happened. We would still be strangers, but this tension would not be between us.

But the past can't be changed. I'm sure even those with time-travel quirks would agree. Not that I've heard of someone having a time-travel quirk. Even so, better now than never, I broke our friendship.

Our friendship was poison. I concocted its bitter antidote. He is suffering right now. So am I. But with time, we will have drank enough of this antidote to have overcome the poison. With time, we will forget about each other entirely.

I reassure myself of that as the remainder of classes pass. Then, it is time for Hero studies. Today's practice will be done wearing the U.A. training uniforms and in partners. The last detail makes me flinch. Todoroki-kun is already my partner for one task. I don't want him for another.

My wish is granted, but not in the way I was expecting. Todoroki-kun is paired with Tokoyami-san. I am paired with Bakugou-san. Considering Bakugou-san's temperament and one and only conversation - if it could even be called that - I'm not sure our pairing is a good idea. And if Bakugou-san's sneer is any indication, he feels the same.

The purpose of today's practice is to mock one of the events in the Sports Festival that remains consistent year to year: the one-on-one fighting tournament. For this practice, there are numerous chalk-drawn circles on the training grounds, each one about three meters in diameter. Each pair is to suppose combat for as many times as possible in one hour. The moment one partner is out of bounds, immobilized, or surrenders, the other partner wins and marks the end of one match. The teachers plan on making the students face off in close quarters to progressively larger quarters until the day of the Sports Festival.