Viridity

30

The day of the festival came sooner than you would have liked.

You sat in one of the rooms behind the stadium, dressed in your P.E uniform, when you turned your gaze around the room and looked at all your classmates, who looked just as nervous as you.

You were thinking about your sister, who was actually at the stadium. Unlike your father and brother who would be watching you at work, your sister had actually taken a day off from her university and came to cheer you. But knowing her, she was mostly going to provide emotional support rather than cheering you on.

In an attempt to calm your nerves, you took a very deep breath. Sero, who was seated with you, gave you a wobbly smile when he saw you trying to ease up, "Cheer up, [Last Name]!! You'll do amazing!" For someone who never interacted with you, he sure was a sweet guy. You didn't exactly calm down but you did appreciate his kind gesture.

"Right, thank you so much, Sero-san... I'm sure you'll do great too!" On the other hand, Sero seemed rather eased up by your words and this time, he gave you a confident grin.

"Thanks [Last Name]! It means a lot, coming from someone as cool as you!"

"W-What?!" What did he mean, someone as cool as you?!

"Duh! You singlehandedly humbled that indigo-head! Not to mention, you were able to win against one of our class's strongest in the battle trials, and you even helped Aizawa-sensei when the villains attacked!!"

Wow, you never knew someone could view you in such a light. After all, you're not exactly the most courageous or heroic person, even if you try hard to be.

As you and Sero continued to converse, your conversation was cut short when Todoroki walked up to Midoriya and spoke up, "Midoriya." The greenette turned his head to face the aloof boy, in surprise.

"Todoroki-kun?"

"Objectively speaking, I'm much stronger than you." What the hell?! As if he wasn't enough of an asshole, this really takes the cake! Todoroki is out here trying to fight everyone he can find, huh?

"O-Oh... Well, you're right... about that..." What?! Midoriya, don't let this guy talk down to you!!

"-but lately... You've caught All Might's attention, haven't you?" Midoriya sputtered to clear his name but the dual haired male didn't really listen, "What I want to say is... I'll be the one to defeat you in this Sports Festival, and become number 1."

"Hey, dude... Why are you trying to antagonize people before the festival?" Kirishima finally decided to jump in and you decided that you couldn't sit still and watch Midoriya get pushed around by this sour bitch.

"Putting people down, is that something you enjoy to do, Todoroki? For someone who's aiming for the top, you don't seem like you even understand what makes someone worthy of it." You sneered and he glared right back at you. While his glare was enough to scare you, you decided to finally stand your ground.

Yes, he's fucking scary.

And yes, you don't want to face him.

But you won't always have someone to protect you. So it's best you start standing up for yourself.

"What are you trying to say, [Last Name]? Just because you won once-"

"You're still hung up on that? Let go of the past, Todoroki. Picking fights with people who are supposed to be your comrades won't do you any good." He scoffed but turned his head away from you. Midoriya, however, finally spoke up, "Todoroki-kun... I don't know what you're trying to say but..." Finally looking up, Midoriya's green eyes met with Todoroki's mismatched ones.