Heartbreaker | BNHA x Reader

[31] Under The Spotlight

You awoke in a good mood.

Things had been quiet for the last little while. Well, not so much quiet, but rather uneventful, at the very least. And while most people sought out excitement or some sense of thrill, you much preferred for things to be boring, almost mind-numbingly so.

If nothing else, boredom meant that nothing was going wrong.

So, yes. You had welcomed the past week and a half, in all its uneventfulness. The system still wasn't doing anything too suspicious, and they'd been keeping out of your business for the most part, which came as a relief. You'd been able to focus wholeheartedly on your training, without any pesky speed bumps along the way.

And now, as light trickled in through the gaps of your curtains, you realized it was finally the long-awaited morning.

Today, the Sports Festival would begin.

A soft yawn escaped your lips. Moments later, you were stretching out your arms as if you were reaching all the way up to the sky. Your body felt pretty good. Sleep had never come easily to you, not as far as you could remember, but the physical exhaustion that came with your training had really knocked you out the past few nights. You were somewhat well-rested for a change, and perhaps you were being optimistic, but you actually felt like you were in pretty decent shape.

I must have gotten stronger, right? I've been training my butt off, after all.

Choosing to remain optimistic, you pushed any doubts to the back of your mind. Sure, you were nervous about how today would turn out, but you were excited too. The goal of becoming a hero wasn't one you'd chosen for yourself, but the longer you pursued it, the more you found yourself wanting to become the kind of person that could protect someone's smile-just like Izuku did.

You knew you were still weak. You knew that you had a lot to learn. On top of that, you had almost no memories guiding you forward. But it was okay.

Your desire to want to help people... already, that was more than enough.

Rubbing the morning fog out of your eyes, you slowly got out of bed, then palmed your nightstand to turn off your phone alarm. The morning really was off to a good start, because the second you caught a glimpse of your lock screen, your lips pulled into a smile.

It was the selfie you'd taken with Izuku, back when you'd gone to the mall together. He looked so adorably awkward, all dressed up in the outfit you'd picked out for him. You could still remember just how red he'd gotten when you'd shown him that was what your phone's new lock screen was. He hadn't complained though, so you could tell that he liked it.

You started your day off with breakfast, as usual, then went to go wash your face and brush your teeth. It felt weird staring back at your reflection and feeling confident for a change. Who knew that finally getting some sleep was the secret fix all along?

"I'm gonna kick ass today," you mumbled, not really addressing anyone in particular, including the system. You kind of just wanted to hear yourself say the words, and admittedly, it helped your confidence build even more.

Today was going to be good. Not just good, but great. And so what if you didn't place first? You were going to do your best, and you would be proud knowing that you'd given it your all. So long as your heart was in it, that was the most crucial thing.

Finding your memories was incredibly important, true, but finding yourself-meaning, your goals and aspirations-was every bit as important.

It didn't matter that you'd been dealt a shitty hand. What mattered was how you were going to live your life going forward.