Blossoms of the Dark

CIX Selene: Monaka

Something is tickling my nose.

Vexed, I turn to the other side.

The tickling intensifies.

I sneeze.

Alarm clocks are supposed to make sound, not motion.

Too tired to open my eyes, I fumble to find the accursed alarm clock that is ruining my sleep.

When I don't feel any plastic or metal, I finally open my eyes and observe my surroundings blearily.

Todoroki-kun is sitting just by the bedside, laughing wholeheartedly.

"I was trying to wake you up, and you began to flail your arm like you were swatting a pesky mosquito," he grins. "First your death shouts, then your dreams coalescing into reality, now this. You have the strangest sleeping habits, Hanada-chan."

Feeling embarrassed, I scramble whatever remains of my dignity. "I thought you were an alarm clock. A moving alarm clock."

"Just like the time when you mistook for me some monstrous cross of a human and a spider. Was it a human torso with spider legs or a spider head with a human body? I can't recall. Perhaps you remember?" he teases.

The level of mortification only rises, so I shove him a little too hard in the chest. He topples out of his chair, and I bend over, concerned. But he has the gall to only snicker harder. My sight falls on a maroon nasturtium in his hand. He tickled my nose with the flower! The audacity! Thoroughly annoyed, I huff and frown. "Is it time for the next match? Who are the participants?" I question, desperately hoping to change the situation.

"It's Bakugou and Tokoyami," he gasps between his chortles. "Bakugou's vocabulary should be the tune to an alarm clock. So loud and colorful that even the comatose would awaken."

I groan in frustration before laying down again with my back to him. I wish I could just bury myself here and never come out.

"Come on. Get up," he urges. "Now you can watch all the matches in one sitting. You made it in fourth place. Congratulations, Hanada-chan. It was fun sparring with you."

Realization strikes me a lightning bolt. That's right. I was beyond the boundary, so I was disqualified. Shigaraki and Hanada-sama both wanted me to qualify in the Top Three. I placed one less. Will they upset? Shigaraki might just grumble and scold, but Hanada-sama? He will do unspeakable things to me. All I can do is give them information about the U.A. students based on my observations, but that won't be enough to spare me from his punishment.

"Hanada-chan, let's go," Todoroki-kun orders again.

"C-coming. Just a m-moment. C-congratulations to you, too. Y-y-you're a S-Sports Festival finalist," I stammer.

He looks at me with a worried expression when I get up, but I wave it off.

_________________________________________________________

The match has already started when we arrive. Bakugou-san launches explosion after explosion, weakening Tokoyami-san's Dark Shadow. Light is his weakness ... I watch the finale, where Bakugou-san leaps in the air a full 180 degrees to land behind Tokoyami-san. He blasts his brightest explosion yet, rendering Tokoyami-san unable to fight. Tokoyami-san declares defeat, meaning that the ultimate match will be between Bakugou-san and Todoroki-kun.

Todoroki-kun leaves his seat, and when I ask him where he is going, he replies that he needs some time alone before his final match. "During the obstacle course, Bakugou told me that I had given my declaration of war to the wrong rival. During my match with Midoriya, Midoriya told me to accept my fire quirk as my own. And then there's all my arguments with Endeavor. Today has just been a really shitty day for me. There's just a lot I need to sort out, and I'd like to do it on my own, if that's all right with you."