Echoes of Vapor (Shoto Todoroki)

02.04

PART 04

BOUT

The tests leading up to the ball test were manageable, in Ryou's opinion. He couldn't use his quirk in every single test, but there were some where he could, such as the 50 meter dash and the long jump.

While Ryou was waiting for his name to be called for the 50 meter dash, he was panicking slightly in his head, trying to figure out how his quirk would help him in this situation.

He fiddled with his earrings, deep in thought, when he realized there was a way for him to slightly boost his speed.

When his name was called along with the weird, short guy with purple hair, Minoru Mineta, he had his thoughts all organized.

In the few seconds he was allowed to prepare, he used his quirk, breathing out mist and waving his arm, sending the mist towards himself. He heard some confused mumbling from his classmates who watched him, or well, tried to since he was invisible to them now, but he ignored it to keep his concentration on his quirk.

Once his body was completely shrouded in mist, he loosened his concentration on his quirk as a test to see if the mist would cling onto him, which it did.

"Runners, on your marks... Ready..."

As soon as the gunshot went off, Ryou shot off, his body surging forward the fastest he could manage. As he ran, he continued to release a steady stream of mist, using it to act as a shield to reduce air resistance around his body.

As he neared the end, he pushed himself farther with one final burst of speed, pumping his legs as hard as he could, crossing the line.

"4.87 seconds," the measuring machine chimed.

Ryou was only slightly winded, waving his hand away from himself, directing the mist off of his body. He watched the mist shimmer off into nothingness before he regrouped with the rest of his classmates, feeling a bit anxious under the intense gaze of Midoriya, who had been staring for the entirety he was up there.

Then, when it was time for the long jump, Ryou really was stumped as he waited for his turn again. He fiddled with his earrings again, trying to rack his brain for any possible solution to his dilemma.

This was important to him, because he wanted to show Eraserhead- No, Mr. Aizawa, that although he was still not completely healed, he was doing better than he was years ago.

He needed a cigarette. Ryou sighed heavily, ready to give up and just do the jump quirkless, when a thought crossed his mind. He was thinking about the smoke of his cigarettes and realized he could probably do something to help himself in the long jump with his steam.

Although it wasn't his turn, while he waited, he tested it out. He began to produce steam in his mouth before forcefully expelling the steam out of his mouth.

To his delight, a mini force of pressurized air popped out of his mouth, making a quiet whooshing sound.

With this new information in mind, he remained deep in thought until it was his turn, thinking of all of the possibilities that this new discovery would help him with.

Finally, when his name was called, he nervously stepped up to the line.

He repeated what he tested out while waiting. Ryou gathered steam into his mouth, but this time he planned to condense the steam a bit more. When he produced the right amount of steam he wanted, he stood there a bit awkwardly, his cheeks a bit puffed out to accommodate for the steam in his mouth.

"Eh- Why isn't he doing anything?" He heard the blond with a lightning bolt in his hair, Kaminari, ask out loud, but he couldn't react or else he would release the steam prematurely.