Echoes of Vapor (Shoto Todoroki)

02.10

PART 10

BATTLES

In the class 1-A prep room, Ryou downed four water bottles, which wouldn't have been a good idea had it been anyone else, but thanks to his quirk it was similar to charging up a backup battery. Sure, it was hard to drink so much water in one sitting, but it would pay off later.

Students weren't allowed to wear their hero costumes, so Ryou wouldn't be able to track his dehydration status, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

He leaned on one of the walls, observing all of the ways that his classmates were preparing, before Uraraka approached him.

She had a smile on her face, but her brows were furrowed downwards, creating the adorable determined expression that Ryou loved so much. Ryou looked at her, not even attempting to hide his laughter.

"Ryou, are you ready? Are you excited?" She asked, both fists up in excitement.

Ryou smiled back at her, putting both of his fists up as well to execute a quadruple-fistbump. "Yeah, I guess so." He said happily.

Their conversation was cut short when Todoroki, who was usually on the quieter side, loudly called Midoriya's name, instantly gaining the entire room's attention.

"Y-Yes?" Midoriya stammered in surprise.

"Objectively speaking, I am stronger and more capable than you are," Todoroki said, starting off really strong. "All Might has his eye on you, but that's no matter that concerns me. I will beat you."

Kirishima wandered over, nervously placing a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, "Hey, we shouldn't pick a fight so soon-"

Todoroki was quick to brush him off, coldly looking back at Kirishima, "I don't care. I'm not going to pretend to be anyone's friend."

Ryou looked back at Midoriya's expression, which looked discouraged and downcast. He looked as if he was about to cry, and if he did, Ryou wouldn't blame him. However...

"I'm not sure why you felt the need to tell me that you'll beat me, because of course you will. Everything about you is much stronger than I am, and I can't even measure up to most of the others here too..." He began, stirring up feelings of sympathy within Ryou, "But... Everyone, and I mean everyone, is aiming for the top. So why should I let myself fall behind? I am also aiming for the top, and I'm going to give it everything that I've got."

And with that, it was time for the class to leave the waiting room and enter the field.

-

Ryou felt a bit nervous as Present Mic, who would be the commentator for the event, drew attention to Class 1-A, hyping them up wildly. Ryou forced himself to relax, knowing that if anything, people's attention would be drawn to Todoroki, or even Bakugo.

It seemed that Midnight was going to be the referee for the first years.

"Should an R-Rated hero really be in a high school?" Tokoyami asked, a bit confused.

Midnight cracked her whip in his direction, shutting him up quickly.

When Bakugo was chosen as student representative, Ryou felt a smile creep onto his face. this is going to be hilarious.

As Bakugo stepped up to the mic, he already had an arrogant look on his face.

"I'm gonna take first place." He said simply, "You will all be great stepping stones."

And with that, he walked off stage, despite all of the jeering he received from the crowd.

"Without delay, let's get the first event started!" Midnight announced, her voice amplified by a microphone. "The first event will be... the obstacle course race!" Midnight cheered, dramatically pointing to the big screen with a snap of her whip. "A race between every! Single! Member! Across the 11 classes!"