Blossoms of the Dark

CI Selene: Monster

That nap was not long enough.

What I really needed was a thirty-hour nap instead of a thirty-minute one.

With a luxurious hot bubble bath beforehand.

Perhaps scented with rose petals and fragrant oils.

Oh, to be a pampered cat ...

Most cats sleep between twelve and eighteen hours a day.

Some cats sleep for even longer.

Well, after this Festival is over, I will demand my thirty-hour nap from Shigaraki and Kurogiri.

I will deserve that much after exceeding my mental and physical capabilities beyond the point of exhaustion.

Speaking of exhaustion ...

The final event of the Sports Festival is announced. As anticipated, it is the one-on-one battle. Midnight-sensei explains that she will create combat pairs via lottery. After that will be the optional recreational games, which I certainly do not intend to partake in. I tilt my head to the sides, listening to my facet joints crack, wondering if I can spare another few minutes for a second nap, just as Ojiro-san raises his hand to declare that he will be opting out of the event.

My head immediately swerves in his direction, and I ignore the wincing pop that follows. The others are just as shocked. He was my teammate during the cavalry battle, so what happened? No. I have an idea of what happened. Ojiro-san claims that he does not remember what happened during the cavalry battle because of Shinsou-san's quirk, who looks in the other direction when his name is mentioned. Then he continues about he feels that it would wrong to compete with the others without comprehending how he qualified. My other teammate, his name I do not know, follows Ojiro-san's footsteps and also abstains.

Internally, I frown. How magnanimous! Their conscience is greater than mine. I did not even contemplate passing up an opportunity like this, even though I let myself be used. Selfish me. Well, good for them and their righteous souls. I am in no position to afford the same.

Midnight-sensei very enthusiastically accepts their rejections and proceeds to call for the team who ranked in the fifth place to participate. That team turns out to be just as upright and passes their chance to the sixth place team. The boy with the steel quirk takes the open spot.

With no more virtuous students opting out, Sensei declares the combat pairs. I'm paired with Kaminari-san for the first round. He's not bad, but I really wanted to face off against Shinsou-san. Apparently he is with Midoriya-san, Bakugou-san with Uraraka-san, and Todoroki-kun with Sero-san. If I win the first round, then I will face off against either Iida-san or Hatsume-san. Hatsume-san is the inventive pink-haired girl.

After the conversation I eavesdropped on earlier and the series of war declarations, the organization of pairs does not seem so random. Perhaps it is just my paranoia playing with my thoughts.

Either way, I am glad when Sensei dismisses us. I snatch this opportunity to search for the gazebo. When I get there, I promptly remove my socks and shoes. Lying on the dock and steadily swishing my feet through the pond water, I try to take a nap.

But curse my luck, sleep does not come!

All feelings of relaxation and elation are replaced with vexation and irritation. I take this time to reflect on the things I had heard.

Let's focus on Midoriya-san first.

There is no doubt about it now. He and All Might share the same quirk, and both of them know it. That overwhelming power I had absorbed during the Apprehension Test was from Midoriya-san, and that's why I did not feel anything from All Might when I faced him in the Mock Battle. The question is, what exactly is their relationship and how was the quirk shared. Midoriya-san has made it clear that he and All Might do not share a father-son relationship. I was correct in dismissing the legitimate or illegitimate child theory from the start. But that still leaves a variety of possibilities. Are they grandfather-grandson? No, All Might is almost 50. If he had a grandson, then he would be at most a young child, not a teenager. Are they uncle-nephew? That is more likely. The only way quirks are inherited is through sharing the same bloodline. At least that's what we're taught. Is there another way quirks can be inherited ... ? Don't be ridiculous, Selene. You're overthinking it.